Shorewood boys tennis team completes a very successful season by capturing the District 1 Tennis Team Championship

Shorewood boys tennis District 1 Champions  L-R Ethan Farley, Blake Gettmann,
Coach Arnie Moreno, David Lin, Ben Borgida. Photo by Cathy Farley

The Shorewood boys tennis team completed a very successful season by capturing the District 1 Tennis Team Championship over WesCo South rivals, Edmonds-Woodway and Shorecrest.

Teams from the WesCo North division and Northwest 3A league also competed in the tournament. They were playing for a spot to the WIAA State tournament. The top four placers would qualify for state. 

The T-Birds entered two doubles teams, WesCo South number 1 seeded Ethan Farley / Blake Gettmann and number two seeds Ben Borgida / David Lin. Farley and Gettmann defeated the Borgida / Lin team the week before for the WesCo South doubles championship.

Borgida and Lin won three matches in a row, on Tuesday October 26, 2021 to reach the doubles final. Their biggest win came in the semi-finals where they defeated the WesCo North number 1 seeded Everett team in straight sets. Wednesday October 27th, Farley and Gettmann defeated the Northwest number 1 Mount Vernon team in straight sets, to reach the doubles final. 

It was an all Thunderbird final again! 

The match started with the Farley / Gettmann team jumping out to a commanding 4-1 lead in the first set. Borgida and Lin did not give up and were able to tie the set at 4-4 with more of an aggressive attack at net.

Borgida serving to Gettmann. Photo by Arnie Moreno

Farley and Gettmann regrouped and were able to hold their serve and break their opponents' serve to win a hard fought first set 6-4. Borgida and Lin knew they had to start strong in the second set. They used their powerful serves to put Farley / Gettmann on their heels. Borgida / Lin jumped out to a 4-1 second set lead. It looked like the match may go to a third set.

Farley and Gettmann refocused themselves and began to chip away at the lead with accurate serving and consistent shot making. Farley and Gettmann clawed their way back to a 4-4 lead and were able to secure a tough 6-4 match win. 

The T-Bird teams won the District 1 team championship, qualified for the state tournament and each earned All-WesCo honors.

The WIAA State 3A tennis tournament will be next May at Kamiakin High School in Kennewick, Washington.

Farley and Gettmann accomplished a rare feat by not losing a set in the WesCo South and District 1 tournaments. Coach Arnie Moreno was proud of their high level of play and their outstanding sportsmanship.