Union swept out of 3A state semifinals

Union's hopes for capturing at least one individual state title just ended, and their hopes for the girls' team title grew slimmer as well, after all three of the Titans' semifinalists lost dramatic, three-set games to fall into the consolation bracket.

Christina Le, who has placed third at state each of the last two years, appeared to be in position to pull out her match with Chelsea Bailey of Mercer Island after taking the second set 6-3 to tie up the match. But leg cramps that began developing during that set hampered her mobility and forced her to play mostly lobs into the backcourt to slow down the pace of play. She was still in position to pull out the match, trailing 4-3 at one point in the third set. But Bailey broke Le's serve and held her own serve to close out the match 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

Likewise, freshman Victoria Tam took the momentum into the third set against Natalie Allen of Holy Names after cruising to a 6-3 second-set victory, but couldn't maintain it due in large part to a number of unforced errors. Allen won four consecutive games at one point to go up 5-2 before winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to the state final. It sets up an all-Union match for third place between Tam and Le, who also faced off a week earlier in the bi-district finals — a match Le won.

And in what may turn out to be the best match of the day, Titans freshman Alex Wallace had last year's state finals runner-up Lance Wilhelm on the ropes in a superb, dramatic semifinal. Wilhelm was serving with a 5-4 lead in the third set, and held match point. But Wilhelm, a senior, showed his state experience by rallying to break Wallace's serve and take the next two games as well to win 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
Wallace will now face James Russell of Juanita in the third place game this afternoon.