Early Saturday on what became a sultry mid-May day in Boise, girls' doubles and boys' doubles players in the State 4A prep tennis tournament played their semi-final matches at Capital High School courts.
It's tough for high school athletes to be doing anything at 8 a.m., but it was an exception—a state tournament.
On one court, the Sandpoint team of Piper Wahlin and Abby Helander was having a devil of a time with the defending 4A girls' doubles champions from Hillcrest, senior Beth Ann Baker and Kallie Ball. Baker and Ball returned everything, dominated the net and wore its foes down, point by point.
During a break, a Sandpoint coach called his downhearted girls over and said there would be no easy points against a Hillcrest team that won its first state title last May in a three-and-half hour three-tiebreaker match, in 90-degree heat. He said, "You know the ball is coming back at you. Just be ready. Pick up the intensity."
They did pick up the intensity and forced a third set. But it wasn't enough. Winning 6-1, 4-6, 7-5, Hillcrest's top girls advanced to their third consecutive state championship match where they encountered two young, talented girls from Hailey's Wood River High School.
Jessica Hamilton and Ellen Davis, Great Basin Conference champions, brought a 26-2 season record into their first-ever State 4A girls' doubles match at Boise Racquet and Swim Club Saturday afternoon. They went 0-2 in their first state tournament last May but bounced back this spring with confidence, energy and composure.
In fact, Hamilton and Davis played on the adjacent court to Baker and Ball early Saturday. Spotting their Bishop Kelly opponents 1-0 leads in each game, Hamilton and Davis stormed back for a 6-4, 6-4 semi-final victory. In the second set, Hamilton and Davis rallied from 4-2 down for the victory.
Wood River coach Vicki Johnston said about Hamilton and Davis, "Once they start believing in themselves, they can focus, slow things down, settle down a little and do it.
"Both are good at the net. Even though they're sophomores, they're mature. They stay positive and pull each other through tough times. They balance each other well."
One of their two losses came to Baker and Ball in the April 24-25 Capital Invitational tournament in Boise. So Hamilton and Davis were fully aware that the balls would be "coming back at them." Still, the Hailey girls put up a good fight before falling 6-1, 7-5 to Hillcrest in Saturday's championship final.
Johnston said, "They were thrilled to be in the final and played some real good doubles. They started to get more consistent in that second game."
Hamilton and Davis' second-place finish was the best for the 13 Wood River players last weekend in the 18-school, 128-player State 4A tournament. Their 16 points lifted Wood River to the fourth-place girls' trophy in final team standings.
The Hillcrest Knights swept the girls' and boys' team championships for the second straight year, nipping Skyview of Nampa 41.5 to 38.5 for the boys' crown and overcoming Bonneville of Idaho Falls 35.5 to 25 in the girls' race. Hillcrest was a doubles machine, getting 74 of its 77 points in doubles.
Wood River junior Morgan Pike won three matches in straight sets and settled for fourth place in boys' singles. Another strong effort came from the boys' doubles team of juniors Brendan Freund and R.J. Forgeon, who also won three matches at state.
Johnston said about Pike's 6-1, 6-2 third-place loss to precocious Century freshman Shervin Zoghi, "Morgan played awesome. That kid (Zoghi) had to earn everything he got because Morgan didn't give anything away. He's such a good athlete. He ever gives up."
Freund and Forgeon were another example of a Wood River doubles team that communicated well, Johnston said. "They just got a little pooped out there with long matches (two split-set matches and two that went to tiebreakers)."
The coach added, "All our players did well competing with the best 4A players in the state."
Wood River's boys (14 points) just missed a state trophy, three points behind fourth-place Sandpoint.
Results from 4A state tennis follow. Check the Web site for complete 4A state tennis tournament results:
Boys singles
Championship—Kenny Dodd (Skyview junior) 6-0, 6-3 over Shayan Zoghi (Century sophomore)
Third place—Shervin Zoghi (Century freshman) 6-1, 6-2 over Morgan Pike (WR junior)
Girls singles
Championship—Hailey Hutchings (Skyview junior) 6-1, 6-3 over Kaylee Fennern (Bonneville freshman)
Third place—Liz Anderson (Century senior) 6-3, 6-1 over Erica Shenton (Bonneville freshman)
Boys doubles
Championship—Jesse Salmon-Riley Salmon (Hillcrest senior-junior) 6-2, 6-1 over Clayton Cooley-Tony Agenbroad (Skyview senior-junior)
Third place—Mikka Nostdahl-Dustin Pierce (Sandpoint juniors) 3-6, 6-2 ,6-3 over Brent Lee-Logan Nielson (Burley junior-senior)
Girls doubles
Championship—Beth Ann Baker-Kallie Ball (Hillcrest senior-junior) 6-1, 7-5 over Jessica Hamilton-Ellen Davis (WR sophomores)
Third place—Piper Wahlin-Abby Helander (Sandpoint junior-senior) 6-1, 6-2 over Rachel Brauner-Kendra Rollison (Bishop Kelly seniors)
Mixed doubles
Championship—James Weber-Olivia Weber (Hillcrest seniors) 7-5, 6-4 over Sander Hadley-Karlie Standley (Pocatello sophomore-freshman)
Third place—Jordan Green-Kate Mills (Century seniors) 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 over Taylor Neville-Amanda Nelson (Hillcrest sophomore-senior)
2009 State 4A tennis tournament
May 15-16, 2009 at Boise Racquet Club
18 schools, 128 players
Final overall team totals (state qualifiers in parentheses)
1—Hillcrest (13).....77 points
2—Skyview of Nampa (11).....63
3—Century (13).....54
4—Wood River (13).....35
5—Sandpoint (8)..... 29
Others—Bishop Kelly (15) 27 points, Bonneville of Idaho Falls (4) 26, Pocatello (4) 17, Blackfoot (7) 11, Burley (4) 9, Jerome (5) 7, Columbia (7) 6, Emmett (6) 6, Moscow (8) 4, Kuna (4) 2, Mountain Home (4) 1, Nampa (1) 0, Minico of Rupert (1) 0.
Breakdown by boys and girls
Boys
1—Hillcrest.... 41.5 (4th state title)
2—Skyview.... 38.5
3—Century.... 34
4—Sandpoint...17
5—Wood River....14
Girls
1—Hillcrest....35.5 (5th state title)
2—Bonneville.....25
3—Skyview......24.5
4—Wood River....21
5—Century.....20
6—Bishop Kelly...18
Points by category—
(77)—Hillcrest 3 BS, 0 GS, 24 BD, 21 GD, 29 MD=77
1st—BD, GD, MD. 4th—MD.
(63)—Skyview 20 BS, 20 GS, 18 BD, 4 GD, 1 MD=63
1st—BS, GS. 2nd—BD.
(54)—Century 28 BS, 12 GS, 0 BD, 2 GD, 12 MD=54
1st—none. 2nd—BS. 3rd—BS, GS, MD.
(35)—Wood River 9 BS, 4 GS, 4 BD, 16 GD, 2 MD=35
1st—none. 2nd—GD. 4th—BS.
Points by singles/doubles—
35—Wood River (13-15 all matches)—13 points singles (5-6), 22 points doubles (8-9)
State team championships (41st time):
2009 (4A)—Hillcrest (boys) and Hillcrest (girls, 4th and 5th state titles)
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, Hillcrest 5, Community School 5, Wood River 3, Vallivue 3, Meridian 3, Homedale 2, Idaho Falls 2, Payette 2, Gooding 1, Nampa 1, Twin Falls 1.
This was the 34th 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—Kenny Dodd (Skyview junior)
2—Shayan Zoghi (Century sophomore)
3—Shervin Zoghi (Century freshman)
4—Morgan Pike (WR junior)
Summary: WR 3-2 match record, 9 points BS
Championship—Kenny Dodd (Skyview junior) 6-0, 6-3 over Shayan Zoghi (Century sophomore)
Third place—Shervin Zoghi (Century freshman) 6-1, 6-2 over Morgan Pike (WR junior)
Local players
Morgan Pike (WR junior, 3-2)
Won 6-1, 6-1 over Riley Blackhurst (Columbia senior)
Won 6-3, 7-6 (7-0) over Kevin Kirby (Sandpoint freshman)
Lost 6-2, 6-4 to Shayan Zoghi (Century sophomore)
Won 6-3, 6-2 over Eric Novis (Jerome junior)
Lost 6-1, 6-2 to Shervin Zoghi (Century freshman)—third place
Girls singles (16 players)
Final results
1—Hailey Hutchings (Skyview junior)
2—Kaylee Fennern (Bonneville freshman)
3—Liz Anderson (Century senior, 4th GS 2007, 3rd GS 2008)
4—Erica Shenton (Bonneville freshman)
Summary: WR 2-4 match record, 4 points GS
Championship—Hailey Hutchings (Skyview junior) 6-1, 6-3 over Kaylee Fennern (Bonneville freshman)
Third place—Liz Anderson (Century senior) 6-3, 6-1 over Erica Shenton (Bonneville freshman)
Local players
Tanya Greenwood (WR senior, 2-2)
Won 6-2, 6-1 over Esbeiba Ramos (Skyview freshman)
Won 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 over Sara Carley (Bishop Kelly sophomore)
Lost 6-3, 6-3 to Kaylee Fennern (Bonneville freshman)
Lost by default to Erica Shenton (Bonneville freshman)
Sloan Storey (WR freshman, 0-2)
Lost 7-5, 6-1 to Erica Shenton (Bonneville freshman)
Lost 6-2, 6-7, 7-5 to Jessica Burlile (Bishop Kelly senior)
Boys doubles (16 teams)
Final results
1—Jesse Salmon-Riley Salmon (Hillcrest senior-junior)
2—Clayton Cooley-Tony Agenbroad (Skyview senior-junior)
3—Mikka Nostdahl-Dustin Pierce (Sandpoint juniors)
4—Brent Lee-Logan Nielson (Burley junior-senior)
Summary: WR 3-2 match record, 4 points BD
Championship—Jesse Salmon-Riley Salmon (Hillcrest senior-junior) 6-2, 6-1 over Clayton Cooley-Tony Agenbroad (Skyview senior-junior)
Third place—Mikka Nostdahl-Dustin Pierce (Sandpoint juniors) 3-6, 6-2 ,6-3 over Brent Lee-Logan Nielson (Burley junior-senior)
Local players
Brendan Freund-R.J. Forgeon (WR juniors, 3-2)
Won 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 over Cody Pearson-Preston Barker (Skyview seniors)
Lost 7-5, 6-3 to Jesse Salmon-Riley Salmon (Hillcrest senior-junior)
Won 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 over Christian Robertson-Robbie Owen (Bonneville senior-junior)
Won 6-2, 7-6 (4) over Alejandro Andonaegui-Prescott Petitte (Bishop Kelly junior-sophomore)
Lost 6-2, 7-6 (3) to Brent Lee-Logan Nielson (Burley junior-senior)
Girls doubles (16 teams)
Final results
1—Beth Ann Baker-Kallie Ball (Hillcrest senior-junior, 2nd GD 2007, 1st GD 2008)
2—Jessica Hamilton-Ellen Davis (WR sophomores)
3—Piper Wahlin-Abby Helander (Sandpoint junior-senior)
4—Rachel Brauner-Kendra Rollison (Bishop Kelly seniors)
Summary: WR 3-3 match record, 16 points GD
Championship—Beth Ann Baker-Kallie Ball (Hillcrest senior-junior) 6-1, 7-5 over Jessica Hamilton-Ellen Davis (WR sophomores)
(Note: Last year's Baker-Ball championship in 3 tiebreakers took 3 ½ hours in 90-degree heat)
Third place—Piper Wahlin-Abby Helander (Sandpoint junior-senior) 6-1, 6-2 over Rachel Brauner-Kendra Rollison (Bishop Kelly seniors)
Local players
Jessica Hamilton-Ellen Davis (WR sophomores, 3-1)
Second state tournament appearance, went 0-2 last year
Won 6-0, 6-3 over Melanie Carnes-Hannah Myers (Columbia junior-sophomore)
Won 6-2, 6-2 over Logan Levy-Lauren Pennington (Moscow seniors)
Won 6-4, 6-4 over Rachel Brauner-Kendra Rollison (Bishop Kelly seniors
Lost 6-1, 7-5 to Beth Ann Baker-Kallie Ball (Hillcrest senior-junior)—championship
Tory Lakey-Lauren Reutter (WR juniors, 0-2)
Lost 6-2, 6-0 to Piper Wahlin-Abby Helander (Sandpoint junior-senior)
Lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 to Amanda Carlson-Ariana Tobe (Bishop Kelly freshmen)
Mixed doubles (16 teams)
Final results
1— James Weber-Olivia Weber (Hillcrest seniors)
2—Sander Hadley-Karlie Standley (Pocatello sophomore-freshman)
3—Jordan Green-Kate Mills (Century seniors)
4—Taylor Neville-Amanda Nelson (Hillcrest sophomore-senior)
Summary: WR 2-4 match record, 2 points MD
Championship—James Weber-Olivia Weber (Hillcrest seniors) 7-5, 6-4 over Sander Hadley-Karlie Standley (Pocatello sophomore-freshman)
Third place—Jordan Green-Kate Mills (Century seniors) 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 over Taylor Neville-Amanda Nelson (Hillcrest sophomore-senior)
Local players
Raleigh Grossbaum-Hannah Baybutt (WR freshmen, 1-2)
Lost 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 to Taylor Neville-Amanda Nelson (Hillcrest sophomore-senior)
Won 6-0, 6-1 over Ty Ravsten-Aubrey Burton (Century sophomores)
Lost 7-6, 7-6 to Luke Erlebach-Alicia Weissenbuehler (Emmett juniors)
Alex Henning-Kelsey Brennan (WR senior-sophomore 1-2)
Lost 6-4, 6-2 to Luke Erlebach-Alicia Weissenbuehler (Emmett juniors)
Won 6-1, 1-6, 7-6 over Seth McLean-Lezlie Sundwall (Columbia seniors)
Lost 6-1, 6-4 to Tommy Harrison-Kiley Heffner (Bishop Kelly seniors)
Wood River sophomores Jessica Hamilton and Ellen Davis, second-place finishers in girls’ doubles, enjoy last weekend’s State 4A tennis tournament in Boise. Their efforts lifted the Wood River girls to the fourth-place state team trophy.
