By Mike Weber
For Columbia Gorge News
HOOD RIVER - The Hood River Valley Eagles OSAA Class 5A boys and girls tennis teams capped the regular season with spectacular performances in the Northwest Oregon Conference district tourney May 11-13 at Parkrose High School in Portland.
Led by the trio of Class 5A tennis state qualifiers Kaylen Mitchell, Anna Dalbey and Charlotte Fuller, the Eagle girls took second place in team scoring with 17 points; NWOC district champion La Salle Prep won with 20 points.
The Eagles boys squad was led by the doubles team of brothers Kane and Kash Wagner, who also qualified for the 5A tennis state championships May 22-23 in Portland and Beaverton. The Eagles will compete at the West Hills Racquet and Fitness Club on Friday in Portland. They’ll then compete on Saturday at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center in Beaverton.
For the Eagle girls trio, guided by eighth-year Coach Peg Bogard, it marks their first ever state tourney.
“We had two other doubles teams who made it to the quarterfinals, and we also had another singles player who reached the quarterfinals, so we had a very strong performance by our entire team throughout the tournament,” said Bogard. “I’m very proud of everyone and they worked very hard and did a great job. They all faced some very strong competition, mainly from La Salle. The other schools there also had some good teams, but La Salle gave us the toughest fight.”
Mitchell started the tourney at No. 1 singles with a first round 6-0, 6-1 win over Greta Dazer of La Salle on May 11. She followed with a second-round, 6-0, 6-0 win over Nicole Olson of Canby. In the May 12 quarterfinals, Mitchell won 6-0, 6-1 over Nithya Kalavai of Wilsonville.
Mitchell, who had a 5-0 district record, advanced to the May 13 semis and she won 6-3, 6-0 over Teagan Hamilton of Wilsonville. Mitchell, who is unbeaten with an overall record of 14-0, reached the finals and she won 7-5, 6-0 over three-time state qualifier Trina Dinh - a Parkrose High senior.
“The kids are very excited to be in the tournament, and they’ll have a week to prepare for it,” said Bogard. “I think they might be a little nervous though, which would be normal for first time state qualifiers. They’re also very calm and patient players, so I think they’ll be okay. All three girls are very smart, strategic players and Kaylen is a big hitter as well.”
Dalbey and Fuller, both seniors, won four of five matches and they took third place in district to qualify for state. The duo won their May 11 first round match 6-0, 6-0 over Hillsboro’s top doubles team. They followed with a 6-4, 6-1 second round win over a team from Canby.
Dalbey and Fuller won in three sets in the May 12 quarterfinals before losing in straight sets in the semifinals. The HRV pair beat Noemie Anderson and Suzy Valdivia of La Salle in the third-place match, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4.
Eagle junior Zoe Aiken (13-4 record) won two of her three matches. Aiken won first and second round matches May 11. Aiken reached the May 12 quarterfinals where she lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to Wilsonville’s Hamilton to conclude her season.
The Eagles No. 3-seeded doubles team of senior Grace Kerr and junior Ava Giordano (11-5) won first- and second-round matches May 11 but lost in the quarterfinals. The Eagles sophomore duo of Cate Haspela and Ellie Giordano also won two of three matches.
The 12-member Eagle boys squad, guided by long-time (20 years) Coach Jon Hiatt, was led at the district tourney by the solid performance of the Wagner brothers, who took fourth place to advance to the state tourney for the first time ever.
“They (Kane, Kash) are both feeling pretty stoked about going to the state tournament,” said Hiatt. “They both worked really hard and every chance that they get, they play tennis either at practice or they’ll go to the Hood River Athletic Club on their own time. They also enjoy playing with their family members, too. It’s pretty awesome that they have that good, close sibling connection, but they’re also very competitive, which is always a good thing.”
The third-seeded Wagner brothers won a May 11 first round doubles match 6-1, 6-2 over a Centennial High squad, followed by a 6-4, 7-5 win over La Salle. The Wagners then reached the May 12 quarterfinals and they won 6-0, 6-1 over Wilsonville. The duo then lost 2-6, 0-6 to La Salle in the semifinals May 13, followed by a 4-6, 7-6, 4-6 loss to Wilsonville in the third/fourth place match.
“The boys are excited about the state tournament, but they were very tired too after a grueling, three-days of playing tennis in the district tourney,” said Hiatt.
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