Griffith, Hough claim titles

When Katie Griffith and Anna Lambert met during the regular season, Griffith won without much of a challenge.

When the two met Friday afternoon in the girls singles championship at the District 8 4A tournament at University, the end result was the same – but the win wasn’t as easy for the Ferris junior.

“I knew it was going to be a lot tougher this time,” Griffith said. “She played so well yesterday (in the semifinals) and has improved a lot since I played her the first time.”

Griffith placed a deep shot – her strategy in the entire match – and Lambert’s return sailed long as Griffith improved on her second-place finish in last year’s tournament with a 7-5, 6-2 win to take the district’s top seed into next weekend’s regional tournament in Yakima.

The top-seeded Griffith broke Lambert at 2-1 to take an early lead in the first set. Lambert held serve and broke Griffith to get right back in the match at 3-3, and took a 5-4 lead after breaking Griffith’s serve for the second time. Griffith won the next three games to capture the first set.

“I just kept going through phases,” said Griffth of a midfirst-set mental crash. “I wasn’t playing as well and had to pump myself up – I had to stop thinking about the mistakes and try and keep my head in it.”

Lambert, a freshman at Gonzaga Prep, had mixed feelings about the match.

“It feels good, being a freshman it’s a little crazy,” said Lambert, who upset Lewis and Clark’s Elise Otto in three sets in Thursday’s semifinals. “But it’s kind of disappointing, too, because I kind of got down at the end. Katie’s a great player, though, and she deserved to win.”

There were no surprises on the boys singles side, as Ferris junior Whitman Hough breezed past G-Prep’s Marc Poppy 6-0, 6-0.

In boys doubles action, LC’s Nick Johnson and Chris Martin successfully defended their district title, beating Ferris’ John Cadagan and Kevin Satre 7-6, 7-5 in a rematch of last year’s district final.

Johnson and Martin like their chances down the stretch.

“We would like to make it to at least the top three in state,” Martin said.

“If we stay solid, we shouldn’t have a problem,” Johnson added.

Mead’s Katrina Schwab and Britta Stime rolled past LC’s Erica Ehlo and Lyndi Seidensticker 6-2, 6-2 to capture the girls doubles title.

The top four individuals and doubles teams advance to the regional tournament.

3A

Mt. Spokane’s fourth-seeded duo of Zach Caldwell and Chris Jordan upset East Valley’s top-seeded team of Corbin Dial and Lonnie Quirk in the semifinals en route to a 6-4, 6-2 win over teammates Jarrad Dahl and John Maccini in the boys doubles final at EV.

Jessica Casebier and Miranda Brother of EV rallied after dropping the first set and won the girls doubles title, defeating North Central’s Nicole Johnson and Devan Lockhart 7-5, 6-1, 6-3.

Two teams advance to the regional tournament.