Chymcakova takes 3rd
Karin Chymcakova will bring a third-place singles medal from the State 3A tennis championships back to North Central High School, and eventually to her home in Slovakia.
The exchange student outlasted Mercer Island’s Nora Tan, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the third-place match Saturday afternoon at the Vancouver Tennis Center.
Earlier in the day, Chymcakova lost the only match of her high school season, 6-2, 6-3, to the eventual state champ, Sasha Carter of Bainbridge Island.
“She was much better than I,” Chymcakova said of Carter. “Today, I did not play my best. She was better.”
Chymcakova certainly did not play her best in the first set of her third-place match against Tan.
“I was fighting myself,” she said of the afternoon match. “I couldn’t hit the ball. I couldn’t get into the match.”
The 18-year-old “got into” the second set with a little bit of self-analysis – talking to herself.
“I began talking to myself between points,” she said. “I would say, ‘Play this ball. Focus on this next point.’ ”
It wasn’t easy. Mercer Island is a traditional 3A tennis power with five boys and girls entries in the event. Tan had a large contingent of fans cheering loudly for her. Chymcakova had only NC coach Cheryl Bixby in her camp.
4A: Ethan Vaughn of Mead finished fourth, winning twice during the day in Kennewick. Vaughn beat Olympia’s John Stormans 6-1, 6-4 before taking out Wenatchee’s Hudson Barnhart 6-4, 6-1 in the medal match. Vaughn’s only loss of the tournament was to Kentwood’s Max Manthou, who became the first four-time 4A champion.
Leslie Ho of Central Valley lost her only match of the day, falling 6-0, 6-2 to Amie Vo in the consolation semifinals.
Kentwood and Wenatchee tied for the boys team title, and Newport (Bellevue) won the girls title.
2A: Clarkston earned six medals in Seattle. The girls brought home the team title, and the boys finished second.
Dustin McConnell finished fourth in singles and Alejandro Canseco fifth for Clarkston. McConnell beat Josiah Jackson of Ellensburg 6-2, 6-1 and Evan Madill of Sehome 6-4, 6-3. Canseco lost his first match, 6-0, 6-2 to eventual state champion Will Topp of Sehome, then lost 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Interlake’s Luat Le in a medal match.
Clarkston’s Drew Adams fell in the consolation semifinals, losing 7-5, 6-2 to Madill.
In girls singles, Clarkston’s Elise Rooney finished sixth after beating Lauren Salberg of Mark Morris 6-3, 6-1, and losing 6-4, 6-1 to Maddie Pearce of Bellingham. K.C. McConnell of Clarkston lost her only match of the day, 6-4, 6-0 to Pearce in the consolation semifinals.
Derek Young and Nick Van Cleave finished fifth in boys doubles. They lost to Andrew Troutman and Kyle Buckham of Bellingham 6-4, 7-5, then fell to Reed Gunstone and Malory Maloney of Sequim 6-3, 6-3.
Pullman’s Sam Scad and Nishant Dwivedi were eliminated by Bjorn Thorpe and William Giller of Sehome 6-3, 6-2 in the consolation semifinals.
In girls doubles, Katie Servatius and Katie Van Cleave of Clarkston finished fifth and Roni Hewett and Kellie McCann-Smith finished sixth. Servatius and Van Cleave lost to Bellingham’s Bella Hoyos and Megan Mullarky 6-1, 7-5, then fell to Shannon Craig and Julia Iversen of South Whidbey 6-0, 6-1. Hewett and McCann-Smith beat Hannah Johnson and Lyndsey Norris-Collette of R.A. Long 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 before falling to Emma Anderson and Olivia Koelsch of Tumwater 6-1, 6-2.
1A/2B/1B: Miranda Mielke of Davenport earned fifth place in Yakima, losing 6-2, 6-1 to Leah Newell of Cascade (Leavenworth). Mielke lost in the semifinals, 7-5, 6-3 to Brewster’s Brittany Webster.
Sowmya Mangipudi of St. George’s lost in the consolation semifinals, 6-4, 6-4 to Olga Vitruk of Seattle Academy.
In boys singles, Jarod Gunning of Davenport and Nik Vishwanath of St. George’s both lost in the consolation semifinals. Gunning fell 7-5, 6-2 to Tonasket’s Brett Hendrick and Vishwanath lost 6-2, 6-1 to Seth Gibbons of La Salle.
In girls doubles, Freeman’s Katie Bauer and Blair Riddle lost 7-6, 6-4 to Granger’s Janae Klarich and Emily Carpenter in the consolation semifinals.