3A TENNIS: Tam places third as Union girls take second

Union’s Christina Le helped the Titans to a second-place finish in the 3A girls team standings. (Vivian Johnson/For The Columbian)

Victoria Tam had failed to beat Christina Le in three previous meetings this season.

But when Tam finally broke through in Saturday’s 3A Girls Tennis Championship at the Vancouver Tennis Center, clinching a third-place finish that helped push Union to the brink of a state title, the moment was partly bittersweet.

After Tam rallied to win the second set 6-2 and tie the match, Le retired before finishing a single game of the third set due to intensive leg cramping that had plagued her throughout the day.

The win capped an impressive year for Union’s team and Tam, a freshman who finished second to Le at the bi-district tournament a week earlier before advancing to the state semifinals. The Titans finished second as a team, only two points behind perennial power Mercer Island.

"It wasn’t nice to see it end that way," Tam said of Le’s injury, which did not overshadow Union’s second consecutive second-place finish in the 3A tournament. "That just speaks to our depth, and we can maybe do even better next year."

For a while, the Titans did not look like they would have to wait that long.

After Le and Tam lost the opening sets of their semifinal matches Saturday morning, each rebounded for strong second-set victories and took the momentum into the third.

But unforced errors opened opportunities for eventual state champion Natalie Allen of Holy Names to recover against Tam, and four consecutive wins in the third set up a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory.

Le, too, saw her momentum slip during the third set against Chelsea Bailey of Mercer Island. But it was due to the cramping, which started in her left leg and wound up spreading to her calf, abdomen and right hand. As she struggled with the cramps, Bailey rallied for the 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 semifinal victory, and Tam came back on her strong in the second set after Le cruised to a first-set win.

The injury was upsetting for Le, because she felt the cramps caused her to miss out on a shot at the state title, and a win over Bailey that would have clinched the team title for Union as well.

"I tried, but I should’ve known when to quit," said Le. "This has never happened to me before. I thought I was fine. Of all the days, this had to be the day."

On the boys side, Titans freshman Alex Wallace added to Union’s performance by narrowly missing out on a berth in the state championship before battling to a third-place finish.

Wallace held match point against Lance Wilhelm of Peninsula when the eventual state champion caught a surge of momentum. Wilhelm battled back to win that game and took the next two to win the match 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Wallace then battled for consecutive 7-5 victories in the final two sets against James Russell of Juanita — rallying from a 5-4 deficit in the third set — to finish third.

"You have to keep the emotional stuff aside," Wallace said of bouncing back from his dramatic match against Wilhelm. "I could feel bad after this match, but I wanted to get another good match in."