On a gorgeous spring day, there was also a tight symmetry to the setting for Saturday's boys' singles and boys' doubles championship matches of the State 4A tennis tournament at Boise Racquet & Swim Club.
Playing on one court and wearing his black "Game On" Wood River tennis shirt was senior singles star Karl Wilander—the quietly effective Tufts University-bound shotmaker with the soft hands, nice footwork and pristine pedigree.
On the adjacent court playing for all the marbles were two other Hailey seniors, Raleigh Grossbaum and Charlie Grabow—boys' doubles bulldogs gunning to reclaim their state title from two years ago with smarts, toughness and a minimum of mistakes.
Wilander and Grabow were inseparable as first graders.
And here they were, years later, steps apart, just weeks from high school graduation—ready to achieve a couple of memorable milestones for Wood River tennis, and to send their coach out a winner.
There was a happy ending, indeed two of them. And multiply that by the gratified parents and grandparents and the nine other Wolverine state qualifiers who contributed to last weekend's successful state resolution on the Boise courts.
Wilander, a podium placer in state boys' singles for three straight years, captured his first State 4A championship 7-5, 6-2 over Twin Falls junior Dallas Hunt. Following suit were Grossbaum and Grabow, quickly taking care of business 6-2, 6-1 over a Columbia pair.
The outcomes finalized Wood River's boys' bonanza at 51 points—20 in boys' singles and 24 coming in boys' doubles. They gave the Wolverines their second state boys' championship in three years by a very impressive 51-22 margin over Bishop Kelly of Boise.
Wood River's fifth state tennis championship in 37 years of competing at state completed the remarkable seven-year coaching career of Vicki Johnston on a high note.
Grossbaum, the unofficial and totally willing team spokesman, said afterward that the players knew about her impending retirement from the post a few weeks ago and dedicated their effort at state to her.
The margin of team victory was so big that Wilander, and Grossbaum and Grabow, could have lost their semi-final matches earlier Saturday and Wood River would have still won the state championship.
But those semi-final matches early Saturday morning went indelibly into Wood River's winning column. What's more, the triumphant semi-final boys' singles and doubles matches became the most memorable clashes of the two-day, 21-school State 4A tournament.
Patiently executing his game plan and shots and controlling his emotions, Wilander finally broke through against his chief rival and rallied for a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory over two-time defending state champion Josh Goodwin, a talented junior from Century of Pocatello.
"It's probably my biggest win ever," said Wilander.
Wilander trailed 3-1 in the second set before winning 13 of the next 20 games with a steady diet of scary top-spin returns and long winning points. He had beaten Goodwin only once before, when Karl was 12, but never since Goodwin "started getting" serious about his training, in Wilander's words.
Goodwin had beaten Wilander 6-4, 6-2 in last year's state final. It was one of only two losses Wilander sustained in 13 matches over three years at the State 4A meet, the other a straight-set loss to 2009 singles king Kenny Dodd of Skyview when Karl was a sophomore.
Yet Wilander, the son of International Tennis Hall of Famer Mats Wilander of Hailey, had been pecking away at Goodwin's superiority in 2012. "Exhibit A" was the Eastern Idaho Invitational April 14 in Idaho Falls, when Goodwin needed a 7-4 tiebreaker in the third set to hold off Wilander.
On Saturday, down 3-1 in the second set after losing the first, Wilander methodically climbed back into the match by maintaining a calm demeanor and by attacking Goodwin's strength—a deadly one-handed backhand that usually brings opponents to their knees.
Wilander said, "In between points I tried to remain calm and not show too much emotion. The most important thing was to keep my feet moving and to get myself in position. That's what coach (Johnston) suggested I do. I hadn't been serving very well, so I needed that.
"Josh has this one-handed backhand so I tried to keep hitting high to his backhand, and I think I got in his head a little. That left his forehand open."
And Wilander's come-from-behind 7-5 victory in the second set forced a deciding set.
Wilander had never gone to split sets in any of his 13 State 4A tournament matches. Neither had Goodwin, who had won all 10 of his state matches since he was a freshman and had dropped only 14 games in six straight state tournament wins over the last two years.
It was important to keep his stamina up, so Wilander made sure to munch on power bars and bananas in the breaks between games. Playing effectively and hitting his stride at the right time, Wilander jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Goodwin in the third set.
Goodwin stormed back and won the next four games. It was a nervous time for Wood River supporters, but Wilander was still playing with plenty of command and confidence in his abilities. He turned it around.
Wilander held serve by planting a very pretty backhand winner into the right spot at 30-30 and tying it 4-4. Shrugging off two Goodwin aces, Wilander then broke the Century ace by twisting off a top-spinner that forced Goodwin deep and caused him to return it out. Wilander went up 5-4.
But Goodwin had an answer, breaking Wilander's serve helped by a double fault. With the score 5-5, Goodwin went to the serving line with the advantage, yet Wilander won the game with an overhead smash and needed only one game, on his serve, to win the semi-final.
Another double fault put Wilander in the hole at 15-30, but he stayed with his game plan forcing Goodwin deep and putting his opponent in position to make mistakes. Goodwin returned out, and into the net, then Wilander's forehand winner with Goodwin rushing the net finished the 7-5 victory.
Meanwhile, indoors, next door in the barn, Grossbaum and Grabow were in the pressure cooker of their 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 semi-final triumph over 3rd District champs Caleb Hughes and Nick Hughes of Nampa.
Grossbaum, who tends to feed off the crowd, later called it the most intense match he'd ever played. "I definitely like getting pumped up," he said. Grabow added that the spectators generated a tremendous amount of energy, much of it not in Wood River's favor.
Calling upon all their attributes in teamwork, chemistry and savvy ball placement, the teammates from Sage School agreed it was their toughest match. Grossbaum was quick to add the competition was at a high level throughout the boys' doubles bracket. "When we played Columbia in the final, they were just as high quality a team as Nampa was," he said.
The tournament's final match was the mixed doubles third-place marathon between Wood River's senior and freshman team of Quentin Dowdle and Haley Cutler, and Blackfoot's Tanner Norton and Lindsay Loveland. And it came out in Wood River's favor.
Dowdle and Cutler turned out to be one of the most pleasant surprises for coach Johnston this spring. Unseeded in the Great Basin Conference meet, they ended up in the May 9 championship match before falling to teammates Stephen Pfeiffer and Hannah Baybutt.
At state last weekend, Dowdle and Cutler lost only to eventual mixed doubles champions Jimmy Harrison and Ariana Tobe, the Bishop Kelly seniors. The Wolverine duo won four matches, three in split sets including the 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 third-place victory over their Blackfoot opponents.
It could have gone either way. Yet on Dowdle's serve with the third-set knotted up 5-5, Cutler pounded an overhead smash at the net for the game winner. Then Wood River broke Blackfoot and won the final game and took the set, with Dowdle making two excellent shots to close it out.
Check today's Express Web site for a tourney summary.
WOLVERINE NOTES—Wood River's sizable winning margin in the boys' point total was quite different from two years ago, when the Wolverines needed the boys' doubles championship of sophomores Grossbaum and Grabow to slip past Hillcrest 41-39 and earn the school's first state title in 22 years.....Karl Wilander and Wood River senior three-sport athlete Cheyenne Swanson, who are boyfriend and girlfriend, are eager to attend together the French Open tennis tournament that ends June 10 on the famous Roland Garros court. Three-time French Open champion Mats Wilander, who won his first French Open in 1982 at 17 years and 9 months, will be making sure they have good seats there.
2012 State 4A tennis tournament
May 18-19, 2012
At Boise Racquet & Swim Club (headquarters, finals), Capital and Borah high schools
21 schools, 128 players
Final overall team totals (state qualifiers in parentheses)
1—Wood River (12).....62 points
2—Century of Pocatello (13).....51 points
3—Bishop Kelly of Boise (12).....44
4—Bonneville of Idaho Falls (3).....36
5—Blackfoot (9).....28
Others—Skyview of Nampa (5) 25, Madison of Rexburg (6) 21, Columbia of Nampa (5) 20, Twin Falls (9) 20, Hillcrest of Idaho Falls (6) 17, Caldwell (5) 14, Sandpoint (12) 11, Pocatello (3) 9, Nampa (4) 6, Canyon Ridge of Twin Falls (5) 3, Kuna (5) 3, Burley (4) 2, Emmett (2) 2, Minico (2) 1, Moscow (4) 0, Mountain Home (2) 0.
Breakdown by boys and girls
Boys
1—Wood River.... 51 (5th state title, 2nd boys' title in 3 years)
2—Bishop Kelly.... 22
3—Columbia.... 18
4—Blackfoot...17.5
5—Hillcrest....16.5
Girls
1—Century.....36.5 (1st state title)
2—Bonneville....36 (last year's champion)
3—Bishop Kelly......22
4—Skyview......21
5—Caldwell.......14
6 (tie)—Wood River.......11
6 (tie)—Madison......11
Points by category—
(62)—Wood River 20 BS, 0 GS, 24 BD, 4 GD, 14 MD=62
1st—BS, BD. 2nd—none. 3rd—MD. 4th—none.
(51)—Century 13 BS, 20 GS, 0 BD, 15 GD, 3 MD=51
1st—GS. 2nd—none. 3rd—BS, GD. 4th—none.
(44)—Bishop Kelly 9 BS, 3 GS, 2 BD, 8 GD, 22 MD=44
1st—MD. 2nd—none. 3rd—none. 4th—BS, GD.
(36)—Bonneville 0 BS, 16 GS, 0 BD, 20 GD, 0 MD=36
1st—GD. 2nd—GS. 3rd—none. 4th—none.
Points by singles/doubles—
62—Wood River (17-9 all matches)—20 points singles (4-2), 42 points doubles (13-7)
State team championships (44th time):
2012 (4A)—Wood River (boys, 5th state title) and Century (girls, 1st state title)
2011 (4A)—Hillcrest (boys, 6th state title) and Bonneville (girls, 2nd straight state title)
2010 (4A)—Wood River (boys, 4th state title) and Bonneville (1st state title)
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, Parma 13, Borah 10, Centennial 8, Community School 8, Boise 8, Jerome 6, Hillcrest 6, Wood River 5, Vallivue 3, Meridian 3, Idaho Falls 3, Homedale 2, Payette 2, Bonneville 2, Gooding 1, Nampa 1, Twin Falls 1.
This was the 37th year Wood River represented at state.
State titlists (19—4 S, 15 D):
2012 (4A)—Karl Wilander (BS); Raleigh Grossbaum and Charlie Grabow BD
2010 (4A)—Raleigh Grossbaum and Charlie Grabow BD
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.
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Boys singles (16 players)
Final results
1—Karl Wilander (WR senior, 2009 3A BS 3rd place, 2010 4A BS 3rd place, 2011 4A BS 2nd)
2—Dallas Hunt (Twin Falls junior, 4th BS 2011)
3—Josh Goodwin (Century junior, 2010 BS champion, 2011 BS champion)
4—Sam McKellar (Bishop Kelly senior)
Summary: WR 4-0 match record, 20 points BS
Championship—Karl Wilander (WR senior) 7-5, 6-2 over Dallas Hunt (Twin Falls junior)
Third place—Josh Goodwin (Century junior) 6-1, 6-3 over Sam McKellar (Bishop Kelly senior)
Local players
Karl Wilander (4-0, senior)
Won 6-1, 6-3 over Ian Fisher (Caldwell sophomore)
Won 6-3, 6-4 over Brody Wright (Hillcrest junior)
Won 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 over Josh Goodwin (Century junior)
Won 7-5, 6-2 over Dallas Hunt (Twin Falls junior)—championship
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Girls singles (16 players)
Final results
1—Olivia Wathne (Century junior, 1st GS 2010, 1st GS 2011)
2—Kaylee Fennern (Bonneville senior, 4th 2010, 3rd GS 2011)
3—Jenni Perkins (Caldwell junior)
4—Karlie Standley (Pocatello senior)
Summary: WR 0-2 match record, 0 points GS
Championship—Olivia Wathne (Century junior) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 over Kaylee Fennern (Bonneville senior)
Third place—Jenni Perkins (Caldwell junior) 6-3, 6-3 over Karlie Standley (Pocatello senior)
Local players
Lily Richards (0-2, junior)
Lost 6-2, 6-3 to Karlie Standley (Pocatello senior)
Lost 6-1, 6-2 to Esbeida Ramos (Skyview senior)
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Boys doubles (16 teams)
Final results
1—Raleigh Grossbaum-Charlie Grabow (WR seniors, 1st BD 2010)
2—Parker Albertson-Brandon Nguyen (Columbia juniors)
3—Bobby Cannon-Paul Cannon (Blackfoot senior-junior)
4—Hunter Neville-Curtis Calder (Hillcrest juniors)
Summary: WR 6-2 match record, 24 points BD
Championship—Raleigh Grossbaum-Charlie Grabow 6-2, 6-1 over Parker Albertson-Brandon Nguyen (Columbia juniors)
Third place—Bobby Cannon-Paul Cannon (Blackfoot senior-junior) 6-1, 6-3 over Hunter Neville-Curtis Calder (Hillcrest juniors)
Local players
Raleigh Grossbaum-Charlie Grabow (4-0, seniors)
Won 6-3, 6-2 over Dallas Henry-Max Beweryeier (Emmett junior-senior)
Won 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 over Tyler Cannon-Jacob Harris (Blackfoot junior-sophomore)
Won 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 over Caleb Hughes-Nick Hughes (Nampa senior, freshman)
Won 6-2, 6-1 over Parker Albertson-Brandon Nguyen (Columbia juniors)—championship
Cole Caminiti-Josh Morell (2-2, juniors)
Won 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 over Bobby Cannon-Paul Cannon (Blackfoot senior-junior)
Won 7-6 (5), 6-3 over John Burlille-Nick Tobe (Bishop Kelly senior-sophomore)
Lost 6-3, 6-4 to Parker Albertson-Brandon Nguyen (Columbia juniors)
Lost 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 to Bobby Cannon-Paul Cannon (Blackfoot senior-junior)
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Girls doubles (16 teams)
Final results
1—Erica Shenton-Ashlee Trane (Bonneville senior-junior)
2—Brittney Washburn-Lindsey Washburn (Skyview juniors, 3rd GD 2011)
3—Mattie Keist-Rachel Loftin (Century seniors)
4—Mandy Carlson-Marianne Meyers (Bishop Kelly seniors)
Summary: WR 2-2 match record, 4 points GD
Championship—Erica Shenton-Ashlee Trane (Bonneville senior-junior) 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 over Brittney Washburn-Lindsey Washburn (Skyview juniors)
Third place—Mattie Keist-Rachel Loftin (Century seniors) 6-3, 6-4 over Mandy Carlson-Marianne Meyers (Bishop Kelly seniors)
Local players
Sloan Storey-Erin Murphy (2-2, seniors)
Won 6-4, 6-3 over Haley Hilten-Lauren McKinnen (Caldwell sophomores)
Won 6-1, 6-2 over Megan Rockwell-Courtney Windju (Sandpoint junior-senior)
Lost 6-1, 6-2 to Erica Shenton-Ashlee Trane (Bonneville senior-junior)
Lost 6-4, 6-4 to Mandy Carlson-Marianne Meyers (Bishop Kelly seniors)
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Mixed doubles (16 teams)
Final results
1—Jimmy Harrison-Ariana Tobe (Bishop Kelly seniors)
2—Ryan George-Hailey Dobson (Madison juniors)
3—Quentin Dowdle-Haley Cutler (WR senior-freshman)
4—Tanner Norton-Lindsay Loveland (Blackfoot sophomore-senior)
Summary: WR 5-3 match record, 14 points MD
Championship— Jimmy Harrison-Ariana Tobe (Bishop Kelly seniors) 6-2, 7-6 (5) over Ryan George-Hailey Dobson (Madison juniors)
Third place—Quentin Dowdle-Haley Cutler (WR senior-freshman) 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 over Tanner Norton-Lindsay Loveland (Blackfoot sophomore-senior)
Local players
Quentin Dowdle-Haley Cutler (4-1, senior, freshman)
Won 6-3, 6-4 over Sean Chenoweth-Jane Walden (Moscow seniors)
Won 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 over Andrew Dambi-Christin Dobbs (Nampa senior-sophomore)
Lost 6-0, 6-0 to Jimmy Harrison-Ariana Tobe (Bishop Kelly seniors)
Won 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 over Tucker Golay-Michaela Dungey (Century seniors)
Won 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 over Tanner Norton-Lindsay Loveland (Blackfoot soph-senior)—3rd place
Stephen Pfeiffer-Hannah Baybutt (1-2, sophomore, senior)
Won 7-6, 6-4 over Jacob Warner-Lindsay Hall (Hillcrest juniors)
Lost 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 to Corbin Wise-Katie Larson (Columbia senior-junior)
Lost 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 to Ethan McIlhargey-Jordyn Dawson (Kuna senior-junior)
Wearing down his opponents with stamina and determination, and twisting off dangerous top-spin returns, Wood River senior Karl Wilander won his first State 4A boys’ singles title Saturday at Boise Racquet & Swim Club. Here, a pleased Wilander leaves the court right after his 7-5, 6-2 championship match win over Twin Falls junior Dallas Hunt. Photo by David N. Seelig
