Shorewood boys tennis wins District 1 Team Championship

Shorewood District 1 Champions

The Shorewood boys tennis team entered the WIAA District 1 tennis tournament with six players.

The top tennis players from WesCo North, WesCo South and Skagit / Whatcom 3A matched up to try and win one of four top places in singles and doubles, in order to earn a berth to next May's WIAA State Tennis Tournament in Vancouver, Washington, at the Vancouver Tennis Center.

Shorewood had the WesCo South number 1 seeded, junior JD Drake and number 3 seeded freshman Sebastian Sanchez.

In doubles, number 1 seeded sophomore Xander Gordon / junior Peter Kosten and number three seeded sophomore Eli Sheffield and sophomore Riley Boyd. 

The team had won the WesCo South league championship and finished with an overall record of 14-1.

WesCo North champions Snohomish and Shorewood were favorites to win the District 1 team title. The rain cleared and courts dried on Wednesday October 25, 2023 in time to start the court battles. 

Shorewood Boys Tennis Team
with Coach Arnie Moreno

District tournaments across the state are considered to be the first step of the state tennis tournament, on a regional scale. Coach Arnie Moreno reminded the team to approach each match as a challenge and continue to play their consistent style of tennis.

 

Singles  

• JD Drake won his way into the singles final to face Snohomish's Cade Strickland in a rematch. Drake outplayed Strickland with a strong overall strategy and aggressive game to with the first set 6-2. Strickland battled back with a gritty effort, using long rallies and patience to outlast Drake, and win two sets and the singles top spot.
• Freshman Sebastian Sanchez, despite his limited high school tennis experience, played every match with a high level of play and won 5th place, as alternate to the state tournament.

Doubles

• Shorewood's doubles teams were up to the challenge. Gordon and Kosten played a strong aggressive net game to pressure their opponents into many unforced errors and they hit many outright winning shots, to win the doubles championship final.
• Shorewood's Eli Sheffield and Riley Boyd battled some nagging injuries to win long three set matches to put themselves in to position to win a spot to state. Determination, staying positive and a never give up attitude carried them to win the third-place award in doubles.

Shorewood qualified five players for the state tournament, Drake, Gordon, Kosten, Sheffield and Boyd, with Sanchez earning an alternate spot. 

Their high level of play won Shorewood the District 1 Team Championship.

--Head Coach Arnie Moreno