Titans oh-so close to grabbing 3A girls tennis title

Talk about your close finishes: The Union girls tennis team just wrapped up their second consecutive second-place finish in the 3A girls' tennis championship, and missed upsetting Mercer Island — winner of more than two dozen state titles in its history — by only two points.

The final score was 23-21 in favor of Mercer Island, and Union had ample opportunity to close that gap and win the state title in only its second season.

The doubles tandem of Megan Carter and Helen Tam gave the Titans a much-needed push to get into contention by finishing fourth in the doubles championships, beating Katie Bates and Kellee Bates 6-2, 6-0 to secure that position and get some personal redemption after letting that game slip away last year in a sixth-place finish.

With that win, the Titans would have become state champs if either Christina Le or Victoria Tam won their semifinal match. But after tying her match with a strong 3-6 second set, Tam fell behind 5-2 in the third and eventually lost 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to eventual state champion Natalie Allen of Holy Names.

Le, too, seemed in good position after tying her semifinal match 6-3 to take a surge of momentum into the third set. But during that second set she started cramping up, and it progressed to such a severe degree that it not only contributed to a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 loss to Chelsea Bailey of Mercer Island, but eventually forced her to retire from the third-place game against Tam with the match tied 1-1 before the pair finished a single game in the third set.

Le said the cramps started near her knee, but eventually spread into her calf, abdomen and even her right hand, where she said the cramps at times would lock her grip into place -- an unfortunate development for a player who seemed positioned for a run at the state championship today. And that timing — combined with Union's tight finish — led to an emotional finish for Le.

"This has never happened to me before," she said. "I thought I was fine. Of all the days, this had to be the day. ... I kind of feel like it was my fault. I probably should have prepared myself better for my match. Because everyone else held up their side, but I didn't play up to my potential. Hopefully next year I can try to repay them."

Union will have every reason to believe they'll have another shot at a state title. Every girls player who qualified for state this year will be back for another try next year, and on the boys' side Alex Wallace — who battled through two tough three-set matches to capture third place in the boys' singles tournament — will be back as well.