A year after having to win one final match just to get to state, Josh Jeter and Travis Hanley took a much less stressful path to the same ultimate destination.
The Auburn High seniors secured their tickets to the Tri-Cities last Wednesday when they advanced to the semifinals of the Class 4A West Central District tournament at Sprinker Recreation Center. Although they fell to eventual champions Paul Yi and Vineeth Omkaram of Kentridge in that semi on Friday, Jeter and Hanley bounced back on Saturday to take third place, defeating Bellarmine Prep’s Rajiv Iyengar and Spencer Herron, 6-3, 6-2.
Jeter and Hanley will open state play on Friday at Kamiakin High School in Kennewick. Play continues Saturday at Kamiakin, with the championship match slated for that afternoon at the Tri-City Court Club.
Trojan teammate Sandy Dennett will be joining them at state for the second year in a row. The junior standout came back from a 6-4, 6-1 loss to South Kitsap’s Rae Cockreham in Friday’s girls singles semifinals to take third place on Saturday, rallying past Central Kitsap junior Corinne Wurden, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Dennett and her fellow singles competitors will play throughout the two-day tournament at the Tri-City Court Club.
The venues will be familiar. All three Trojans played there last year in the Class 3A state tourney. Auburn returned to the 4A ranks this school year.
Jefferson’s Mackenzie Qualls and Caroline Min are on their way to Kennewick, as well. They bounced back from a first-round West Central loss to win four straight matches on the consolation side of the girls doubles bracket and secure the district’s fourth spot to state.
Qualls and Min defeated Curtis’ Sammie Teigen and Sarah Betteridge in Saturday’s consolation final, 6-0, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2.
Qualls went to 4A state last year, combining with Averi Kitsch to make the semifinals before ultimately settling for the fifth-place medal. Kitsch played singles this year and qualified for West Central, but was not among the six state qualifiers.
Jeter and Hanley didn’t team up for doubles on the Auburn courts until midway through their junior season in the fall of 2007. They played their way into last year’s district tournament, but dropped their opener and immediately went onto the bubble.
They proceeded to win a pair of loser-out matches, fell short in a three-set winner-to-state contest, but shook off that loss to win the match for the seventh and final state berth.
This time, Jeter and Hanley won their first two at district, guaranteeing them a state spot. Only KR’s Yi and Omkaram got the better of them on the district courts, winning 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals.
Dennett also won her first two at district, making the girls singles semis and locking up her state berth. Dennett went 14-0 in South Puget Sound League North Division play this spring and advanced all the way to the league championship match against Decatur’s Meghan Cassens, who won that title and on Saturday added the district crown, as well.
