Union, Columbia River tennis players into state semifinals

Union and Columbia River stole the show among the 26 Greater St. Helens League tennis players who qualified for the various state tournaments.

Union advanced their boys and girls doubles teams to the 4A semifinals on Friday at Richland.

Columbia River will have a boys doubles team and a girls singles player in the semifinals at Seattle.

Union’s Kyle Mosier and Jake Flentke are into the semifinals after dropping just four games in two matches.

The 4A GSHL and 4A bi-district champs from the fall will face a team from Newport on Saturday.

Union’s girls doubles team of Nicole Knudtson and Miriam Muntean also won two matches in straight sets to reach the semifinals.

They will play the defending 4A champs Dora Varsa and Reanne Lee of Skyline on Saturday.

Columbia River’s Faith Grisham, who placed third at state last year, continued her undefeated season by reaching the 2A singles semifinals. After wins of 6-1, 6-1 and 6-0, 6-2, she has dropped just nine games this year.

Grisham will face Luciana Sobrino of Liberty on Saturday. The two played in the quarterfinals of state last year with Grisham winning 6-2, 6-2.

Nate Kessi and Wilson Keller of Columbia River won both their matches Friday and will play a team from Bellingham in the semifinals on Saturday.

Still alive in consolation play of the double-elimination tournaments are:

• Skyview’s Jonathan Hutley is guaranteed to place in 4A singles at Richland. He won two elimination matches to reach the fifth-place final Saturday.

• Akash Prasad and Jake Gianan of Camas are guaranteed to place as they are in the 4A fourth-place doubles final Saturday after surviving their elimination match 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 against Bellarmine Prep.

• Vincent Hsu and James Berteau of Mountain View are the last of seven Thunder state qualifiers as they will play for fourth place in 3A boys doubles.

• Ridgefield’s Derek Kropp is in the 2A fifth-place semifinals in Seattle.

• Washougal doubles team Paige Wilson and Beyonce Bea are in the 2A doubles fifth-place semifinals.

BOYS TENNIS

4A STATE TOURNAMENT

At Richland

(Friday’s local results)

Singles

First round — Tim Pullman (Ferris) def. Naman Thawani (Union) 6-1, 7-6 (6); Bryan Khoo (Skyline) def. Jonathan Hutley (Skyview) 6-3, 6-1.

Consolation — Thawani def. Tae Hyung Kim (Decatur) 6-4, 7-5; Hutley def. Etienne Chaillot (Walla Walla) 7-5, 6-1; Luke Andrewjeski (Wenatchee) def. Thawani 6-2, 6-0; Hutley def. Connor Scott (Newport) 6-4, 6-3.

Doubles

First round — Huang/Sahu (Newport) def. Joey Gaylor/Sean Wilcox (Skyview) 6-3, 6-1; Kyle Mosier/Jake Flentke (Union) def. Jacob Buchan/Elden Buchan (Decatur) 6-1, 6-1; Akash Prasad/Jake Gianan (Camas) def. Holmes/Crivanovischi (Newport) 6-2, 6-2.

Quarterfinals — Mosier/Wilcox def. Tyler Cochran/Drew Sellars (Lake Stevens) 6-0, 6-2; Anuj Vimawala/Daniel Sohn (Jackson) def. Prasad/Gianan 6-3, 6-3.

Consolation — Cai Nyby/Mica Olin (Chiawana) def. Gaylor/Wilcox 6-3, 6-3; Prasad/Gianan def. Jackson Kelley/Brett Kelley (Bellarmine Prep) 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.

3A STATE TOURNAMENT

At Kennewick

(Friday’s local results)

Singles

First round — Will Molinaro (Edmonds-Woodway) def. Manny Fernandez (Fort Vancouver) 6-1, 6-0; Cameron Yang (Bellevue) def. Elijah Nelson, Prairie 6-1, 6-0.

Consolation — Thomas Synnnott (Squalicum) def. Fernandez 6-2, 6-0; Nelson def. Thomas Dean (Gig Harbor) 6-4, 6-2.

Doubles

First round — Vincent Hsu/James Berteau (Mountain View) def. Subhu Purohit/Alex Levine (Lake Washington) 6-3, 6-3

Quarterfinals — Jason Edmonds/Jack Delafield (Lakeside) def. Hsu/Berteau 6-1, 6-2.

Fourth-place semifinal — Hsu/Berteau def. Andrew Counter/Steven Lin (Shorewood) 6-4, 7-6.

2A STATE TOURNAMENT

At Seattle

(Friday’s local results)

Singles

First round — Shane Lynette (Sehome) def. Derek Kropp (Ridgefield) 6-1, 6-0.

Consolation — Kropp def. Peter Felicijan (Prosser) 6-2, 7-5.

Doubles

First round — Nate Kessi/Wilson Keller (Columbia River) def. Damon Little /Liam Payne (Sequim) 6-1, 7-6.

Quarterfinals — Kessi/Keller def. Humberto Hinojosa/Naujae Pineda (Wapato) 6-3, 6-4.

GIRLS TENNIS

4A STATE TOURNAMENT

At Richland

(Friday’s local results)

Doubles

First round — Nicole Knudtson/Miriam Muntean (Union) def. Jessica Gardner/Annie Meines (Bellarmine Prep) 6-3, 6-3.

Quarterfinals — Knudtson/Muntean def. Kaylynn Noyd/Kara Nelson (Wenatchee) 6-1, 6-3.

3A STATE TOURNAMENT

At Kennewick

(Friday’s local results)

Singles

First round — Addie Eklund (Interlake) def. Shreya Bhatra (Mountain View) 6-0, 6-0.

Consolation — Olivia Sun (Interlake) def. Bhatra 6-0, 6-2.

Doubles

First round — Elin Bertheau/Caroline Johnson (Mountain View) def. Sammie Maher/Kennedi Rehn (Mt. Spokane) 6-0, 6-4; Maria Philip/Ella Anderson (Seattle Prep) def. Anna Lu/Grace Garmire (Mountain View) 6-0, 6-0.

Quarterfinals — Amber Edmonds/Crystal Xu (Lakeside) def. Bertheau/Johnson 6-0, 6-1.

Consolation — Emma Nguyen/Alina Kaminskaya (Lincoln) def. Lu/Garmire 7-6 (5), 6-4; Angel Le/Abby Nash (Interlake) def. Bertheau/Johnson 6-0, 6-2.

2A STATE TOURNAMENT

At Seattle

(Friday’s local results)

Singles

First round — Karli Rojas (North Kitsap) def. Piper Rylander (Columbia River) 6-1, 6-2; Faith Grisham (Columbia River) def. Makinna Skjonsby (North Mason) 6-1, 6-1.

Quarterfinals — Grisham def. Tiffany Phout (East Valley-Spokane) 6-0, 6-2.

Consolation — Priti Ahya (Lindbergh) def. Rylander 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles

First round — Louli Ziels/Britney Butcher (Bellingham) def. Paige Wilson/Beyonce Bea (Washougal) 7-5, 7-6.

Consolation — Wilson/Bea def. Keara Sinclair/Lillian Hyde (West Valley-Spokane) 6-3, 6-0.