Scott Pike and Morgan Pike made sure the Wood River Wolverines brought home a boys' team trophy from last weekend's State 4A tennis tournament in Boise.
They won boys' doubles—the first siblings in Wood River Valley history to win state.
And senior Anna Chrysikopoulos did her part to ensure a girls' trophy for Wood River by battling through a tough girls' singles field and taking her lumps against the best female player in the 128-player meet.
All in all, it was a good state tournament for coach Vicki Johnston's Wolverines on a very hot weekend at Boise Racquet & Swim Club. And for the Hillcrest Knights, the outcome was considerably better.
Hillcrest, with a state-high 16 players, swept to the overall championship with 87 points compared to 49 points for Century of Pocatello and 47 for defending champion Bishop Kelly of Boise. Wood River (37 points) moved up to fourth place.
This year, for the first time, the Idaho High School Activities Association awarded separate team trophies from first place to fourth place in both the boys' and girls' divisions.
Idaho Falls team Hillcrest won both, and Wood River (13 qualifiers) finished fourth for trophies in both boys' and girls.
Certainly senior Scott Pike and sophomore Morgan Pike made a statement in boys' doubles, winning all four matches. But they were put to the test in the quarterfinals and semi-finals—and came out smiling. Their 6-4, 6-0 title match victory was relatively easy.
In the quarters the Pikes outlasted eventual fourth-place Jordan Niksich and Joey Miller, Mountain Home seniors, by scores of 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. In the semi-final the Pikes got the better of Sandpoint's eventual third-place Mikka Nostdahl and Justin Vaughn 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
That winning semi-final match against the Sandpoint pair turned out to be the tiebreaker that earned Hailey a fourth-place boys' team trophy.
Both Wood River and Sandpoint finished with 22 points in team totals, but the Wolverines won the tiebreaker because they had more players—the Pikes—in the championship finals. Sandpoint had none.
Meanwhile, for three years Idaho 4A girls' singles has been the domain of Hillcrest's human backboard Brooke Sailer, a 5-6 blaster with a beautiful backhand who is bound for Hofstra University on scholarship. That didn't change one iota last weekend.
Sailer breezed through four matches, losing only nine games. She won her third consecutive State 4A girls' singles title and ended up losing only one match in her prep career.
Wood River's singles star Chrysikopoulos didn't have an answer for Sailer's consistency during Saturday's indoor semi-final, taking four games but ultimately falling 6-2, 6-2.
But Chrysikopoulos battled back for fourth place and, combined with junior teammate Maya Deim, earned 12 points in girls' singles that turned into a fourth-place girls' team trophy.
The 4A singles winner was Czech exchange student Michael Cerney, a Blackfoot senior. Hillcrest won girls' doubles and mixed doubles. The girls' doubles finale was a three-and-a-half hour marathon in 90-degree heat that reversed the result of last year's girls' finale.
Speaking of heat exhaustion, WRHS senior Ainsley Gourlay struggled with the heat Friday and was forced to withdraw with her senior partner Karl Fostvedt in mixed doubles consolation. She visited the emergency room and was feeling more chipper later Friday.
Wood River won 13 of its 27 matches during the 18-school State 4A tournament Friday and Saturday. Here are the results from Wood River's 33rd visit to state tennis.
Final overall team totals
(state qualifiers in parentheses)
1—Hillcrest (16) 87 points
2—Century (10) 49
3—Bishop Kelly of Boise (12) 47
4—Wood River (13) 37
5—Sandpoint (8) 33
6—Skyview of Nampa (12) 30
Others—Blackfoot (6) 29 points.....Pocatello (7) 20 points....Kuna (8) 9 points....
Burley (4) 9 points.....Mountain Home (4) 9 points.....Emmett (6) 8 points.....Moscow (8) 3 points....Jerome (2) 3 points....Minico (4) 2 points....Columbia (4) 1 point....Rigby (2) 0 points....Nampa (2) 0 points
Breakdown by boys and girls
Boys
1—Hillcrest 31 (2nd state title)
2—Century 30.5
3—Blackfoot 24.5
4—Wood River 22 (win tiebreaker)
5—Sandpoint 22
6—Skyview 20.5
Girls
1—Hillcrest 56 (3rd state title)
2—Bishop Kelly 44.5
3—Century 18.5
4—Wood River 15
5—Pocatello 11
5—Sandpoint 11
Points by category
(87)—Hillcrest: 15 BS, 21 GS, 4 BD, 23 GD, 24 MD for 87 points.
Placings: 1st—GS, GD, MD. 3rd—BS.
(49)—Century: 25 BS, 13 GS, 1 BD, 1 GD, 9 MD for 49 points.
Placings: 1st—none. 2nd—BS. 3rd—GS. 4th—BS and MD.
(47)—Bishop Kelly: 0 BS, 16 GS, 2 BD, 28 GD, 1 MD for 47 points.
Placings: 1st—none. 2nd—GS, GD. 3rd—GD.
(37)—Wood River: 1 BS, 12 GS, 20 BD, 2 GD, 2 MD for 37 points.
Placings: 1st—BD. 4th—GS.
Points by singles/doubles
37—Wood River (13-14 all matches)—13 points singles (6-6), 24 points doubles (7-8)
State team championships
(40th time)
2008 (4A)—Hillcrest (boys) and Hillcrest (girls, 2nd and 3rd state titles)
2007 (4A)—Bishop Kelly (17th state title)
2006 (4A)—Bishop Kelly (16th state title) and Hillcrest
2005 (4A)—Bishop Kelly (15th state title)
2004 (4A)—Bishop Kelly
2003 (4A)—Vallivue. 2002 (4A)—Vallivue. 2001 (4A)—Bishop Kelly.
1998-2000 (Class B)—Bishop Kelly. 1997—Jerome.
1996—Homedale.
1995—Bishop Kelly. 1993-94—Parma. 1992—Jerome.
1991—Parma. 1989-90—Jerome. 1988—Wood River. 1987—Vallivue.
1986—Wood River. 1985—Jerome. 1983-84—Bishop Kelly.
1982—Wood River.
1981—Gooding.
1975-80—Bishop Kelly. 1973-74—Payette. 1972—Bishop Kelly.
1971—Parma. 1970—Parma and Jerome. 1968-69—Parma.
State team titles (big and small schools, since 1963)—Bishop Kelly 17, Capital 16, Borah 10, Parma 10, Centennial 8, Jerome 6, Boise 7, Community School 5, Wood River 3, Vallivue 3, Meridian 3, Hillcrest 3, Homedale 2, Idaho Falls 2, Payette 2, Gooding 1, Nampa 1, Twin Falls 1.
This was the 33rd year Wood River represented at state.
State titlists (16—3 S, 13 D):
2008 (4A)—Scott Pike and Morgan Pike BD.
2007 (4A)—Cory Rutkowski and Whitney DeBree MD.
2004—Jackie Safran and Devon Bunce, GD.
2003—Dixon Mooseau and Hadley DeBree MD.
2002—Ashley Lakey and Jessie Woodyard GD.
2001—Casey Werth and Vince Nagashima BD; Ned Flanagan and Aprilia Hagglof MD.
1989 and 1990—John Driscoll BS. 1986—John Jacoby BS.
1986—Marianne Moore and Ann Ferries GD.
1982—Adele Allender and Anise Morrow GD.
1980—Hal Sweasey and Lance Levy BD.
1979—Laura Newcomb and Eric Exline MD.
1979—Jonathan Angle and Kelly Coles BD.
1978—Jonathan Angle and Buddy Levy BD.
Boys singles (16 players)
Final results
1—Michael Cerney (Blackfoot senior, Czech exchange student)
2—Shayan Zoghi (Century freshman)
3—James Weber (Hillcrest junior)
4—Tom Delehanty (Century senior)
Summary: WR 1-2 match record, 1 point BS
Championship—Michael Cerney (Blackfoot senior) 6-3, 6-1 over Shayan Zoghi (Century freshman)
Third place—James Weber (Hillcrest junior) 6-1, 6-0 over Tom Delehanty (Century senior)
Local players
Carlos Neme (WR junior, 1-2)
Lost 6-4, 6-0 to Blake Kerbs (Kuna senior)
Won 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 over Tom Chambers (Pocatello senior)
Lost 6-4, 6-1 to Tom Delehanty (Century senior)
Girls singles (16 players)
Final results
1—Brooke Sailer (Hillcrest senior, 2-time defending 4A girls' singles champion)
2—Kassie Seger (Bishop Kelly senior, last year's 4A runner-up)
3—Liz Anderson (Century junior, 4th GS last year)
3—Anna Chrysikopoulos (WR senior, 4th GS 2006)
Summary: WR 5-4 match record, 12 points GS
(Note: Sailer lost only one match in her three-year Idaho high school tennis career, this year during the Capital Invitational tournament in Boise)
Championship—Brooke Sailer (Hillcrest senior) 6-0, 6-4 over Kassie Seger (Bishop Kelly senior)
Third place—Liz Anderson (Century junior) 6-3, 6-4 over Anna Chrysikopoulos (WR senior)
Local players
Anna Chrysikopoulos (WR senior, 3-2)
Won 6-1, 6-1 over Sophia Lopez (Skyview junior)
Won 6-1, 6-0 over Nicole Leslie (Blackfoot junior)
Lost 6-2, 6-2 to Brooke Sailer (Hillcrest senior)
Won 6-1, 6-4 over Abby Helander (Sandpoint junior)
Lost 6-3, 6-4 to Liz Anderson (Century junior)—third place
Maya Deim (WR junior, 2-2)
Won 6-3, 6-4 over Olivia Hensley (Hillcrest senior)
Lost 6-1, 6-0 to Kassie Seger (Bishop Kelly senior)
Won 6-0, 6-1 over Kelcie Dickerson (Century senior)
Lost 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 to Abby Helander (Sandpoint junior)
Boys doubles (16 teams)
Final results
1—Scott Pike-Morgan Pike (WR senior-sophomore)
2—Clay Cooley-Matt Staudinger (Skyview juniors)
3—Mikka Nostdahl-Justin Vaughn (Sandpoint sophomore-senior)
4—Jordan Niksich-Joey Miller (Mountain Home seniors)
Summary: WR 4-0 match record, 20 points BD
Championship—Scott Pike-Morgan Pike (WR senior-sophomore) 6-4, 6-0 over Clay Cooley-Matt Staudinger (Skyview juniors)
Third place—Mikka Nostdahl-Justin Vaughn (Sandpoint sophomore-senior) 6-4, 6-0 over Jordan Niksich-Joey Miller (Mountain Home seniors)
Local players
Scott Pike-Morgan Pike (WR senior-sophomore, 4-0)
Won 6-0, 6-0 over Matt Child-Derek Jentzsch (Minico freshman-senior)
Won 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 over Jordan Niksich-Joey Miller (Mountain Home seniors)
Won 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 over Mikka Nostdahl-Justin Vaughn (Sandpoint sophomore-senior)
Won 6-4, 6-0 over Clay Cooley-Matt Staudinger (Skyview juniors)—championship
Girls doubles (16 teams)
Final results
1—Beth Ann Baker-Kallie Ball (Hillcrest junior-sophomore, 2nd GD 2007)
2—Olivia Weitz-Claire Fischer (Bishop Kelly seniors, last year's GD champions)
3—Kiley Heffner-Jessica Harrison (Bishop Kelly freshman-senior)
4—Kim Ashton-Alex Haynie (Burley seniors)
Summary: WR 1-4 match record, 2 points GD
Championship—Beth Ann Baker-Kallie Ball (Hillcrest junior-sophomore) 6-7 (8-6), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) over Olivia Weitz-Claire Fischer (Bishop Kelly seniors)
(Note: Last year Weitz-Fischer beat Baker-Ball 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the final. This year's championship match took 3 ½ hours in 90-degree heat)
Third place—Kiley Heffner-Jessica Harrison (Bishop Kelly freshman-senior) 6-2, 6-1 over Kim Ashton-Alex Haynie (Burley seniors)
Local players
Tessa Barrow-Kami Doan (WR seniors, 1-2)
Won 6-3, 6-2 over Hailey Woodruff-Ashley Warrer (Sandpoint seniors)
Lost 6-1, 6-2 to Beth Ann Baker-Kallie Ball (Hillcrest junior-sophomore)
Lost 6-1, 7-5 to Bethanne Weston-Amanda Downen (Emmett seniors)
Jessica Hamilton-Ellen Davis (WR freshmen, 0-2)
Lost 6-2, 6-1 to Olivia Weitz-Claire Fischer (Bishop Kelly seniors, last year's GD champions)
Lost 7-6 (3), 6-4 to Ashley Laurence-Kelsey Reiland (Century seniors)
Mixed doubles (16 teams)
Final results
1—Marcel Winkelmann-Olivia Weber (Hillcrest junior-senior)
2—Sander Hadley-Holly Hancock (Pocatello freshman-junior)
3—Ryan Williams-Piper Wahlin (Sandpoint senior-junior)
4—Chester Kener-Kate Mills (Century senior-junior)
Summary: WR 2-4 match record, 2 points MD
Championship—Marcel Winkelmann-Olivia Weber (Hillcrest junior-senior) 6-2, 6-4 over
Sander Hadley-Holly Hancock (Pocatello freshman-junior)
Third place—Ryan Williams-Piper Wahlin (Sandpoint senior-junior) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 over Chester Kener-Kate Mills (Century senior-junior)
Local players
Ben Leopold-Tanya Greenwood (WR senior-junior, 1-2)
Lost 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 to Kevin Adams-Ilicia Weissenbuehler (Emmett senior-sophomore)
Won 7-5, 6-0 over Max Lindemann-Lauren Pennington (Moscow juniors)
Lost 6-4, 6-1 to Danny Lasike-Melissa Fairbrother (Jerome seniors)
Karl Fostvedt-Ainsley Gourlay (WR seniors, 1-2)
Lost 6-1, 6-3 to Marcel Winkelmann-Olivia Weber (Hillcrest junior-senior)
Won 6-2, 7-5 over Jayce Miller-Keisha Cleverly (Nampa seniors)
Lost by default to Jared Purcell-Megan Dalley (Blackfoot junior-sophomore)
