Shorecrest tennis doubles team of Calvin Rice and Owen Pierce qualify for state tournament

Story and photos by Coach Rob Mann

The saga to determine who will qualify for the 3A State Tennis Tournament continued this week at the District Tournament at Skagit Valley College. 

The State Tournament will not be played until the end of May since many high schools in Washington play tennis in the spring. Thus, those who qualified at the WESCO 3A Tournament will have to wait for quite some time before getting to compete again.

Zaid Khan serving

Zaid Khan (SC) had a great first day beating his first opponent without dropping a game. In the second round, it was quite a battle against Russell Anderson. They had long rallies where they were both ripping balls at each other. At one point, Russell stated that Zaid’s shot was epic. Zaid’s game was on point and he just kept hitting winners. 

Day 2 was not so kind. His semi-final match was against Ezra Franklin, whose style of tennis is to chop block every shot back no matter how hard you hit the ball. He has frustrated many opponents with his incredible defensive skills. Sadly, the match ended in defeat for Zaid.

Then, he had to play Will McDonald who had just come off a brutal 3 setter prior to playing Zaid. There was hope that Zaid was going to win this match because he took the first set easily, but then Will found a second wind. He got to the net more often and put his volleys away that allowed Will to win the match. 

Zaid’s third and final match of the day was against Cade Strickland. They both had played two matches earlier in the day, so they didn’t have much energy left, but they both fought hard. Both of them utilized the drop shot effectively in the match. There were probably more drop shop winners in this match than all the other matches combined. Sadly, Cade prevailed and Zaid earned 6th place.

Owen at net and Calvin serving

The duo of Calvin Rice and Owen Pierce had a great tournament. They played singles all season and have been fine-tuning their doubles skills each match. In the first round, they got past Max Andrews and Trevor VanAssche fairly easily, only dropping two games. 

In the second round, they had to play Ethan Farley and Blake Gettman who were the eventual District Champions. Calvin/Owen had just a few more unforced errors than Farley/Gettman that cost them the match. 

They returned on Day 2 to play 3 more matches. They found their stride and figured out how to play quality doubles. Both of them were serving big and allowing their partner at the net to clean up with volley winners. 

They really minimized the unforced errors and they both moved well on the court, which is why they were able to win all three matches on Day 2 and earn 3rd place overall and a berth to the State Tournament.

Connor at service line and Matthew at the baseline

The team of Matthew Gardiner and Connor Wakefield had a tough outing in the first round. They couldn’t quite get their game dialed in and lost in the first round to Connor Wickstrom and Cameron Bailey from Stanwood 3-6, 3-6. Unfortunately, the first round was single elimination, so the loss knocked them out of the tournament.

Zaid Khan (SC)

• 1st round Zaid defeated Morgan Zill (Stanwood) 6-0, 6-0
• 2nd round Zaid defeated Russell Anderson (Edmonds-Woodway) 6-4, 7-6
• Semi-finals Ezra Franklin (Oak Harbor) defeated Zaid 6-2, 6-1
• 1st round of Consolation Will McDonald (Snohomish) defeated Zaid 2-6, 6-4, 6-0
• 2nd round Cade Strickland (Snohomish) 6-2, 6-3

Calvin Rice/Owen Pierce (SC)

• 1st round Calvin/Owen defeated Max Andrews/Trevor VanAssche (Snohomish) 6-1, 6-1
• 2nd round Ethan Farley/Blake Gettmann (Shorewood) defeated Calvin/Owen 6-3, 6-4
• 1st round of Consolation Calvin/Owen defeated Connor Wickstrom/Cameron Bailey (Stanwood) 6-1, 6-1
• 2nd round of Consolation Calvin/Owen def. Daniel Woodward/Grant Mueller (Everett) 6-3, 6-0
• 3rd round of Consolation Milo Gasser/Cody Shackelton (Mount Vernon) 7-6(3), 6-2
• Calvin/Owen earned 3rd place

Matthew Gardiner/Connor Wakefield (SC)

• 1st round Connor Wickstrom/Cameron Bailey (Stanwood) defeated Matthew and Connor 6-3, 6-3