Ephrata tennis closes spring season at 2A district tourney
Tigers Mitch Morford and Avery Morris place fourth in boys doubles, leading Ephrata's nine-entry Class 2A District 5 tournament effort.
YAKIMA — Tiger partners Mitch Morford and Avery Morris came one win shy of a trip to the state tennis tournament in boys doubles, the closest any Ephrata entry came to advancing out of the Class 2A District 5 tournament which concluded Tuesday, May 12 at East Valley High School in Yakima.
The top three finishers in both singles and doubles advanced to state.
Selah won the boys district team title with 19 points, followed by East Valley (17) and Prosser (8). Ephrata tied for fourth with Ellensburg and Grandview, each with 4 points.
On the girls side, Othello took the team championship with 18, followed by Toppenish at 11 and Prosser at 10. The Lady Tigers scored 2 points, tying with Grandview for seventh in the district standings.
Boys doubles
The fifth-seeded pair of Morford, a junior, and Morris, a sophomore, opened with a 6-0, 6-0 first-round sweep of Othello's Criss Duran and Camilo Mendez. In the quarterfinals, the Tiger duo then beat East Valley's fourth-seeded Braxton Miller and Nico Rodriguez 7-5, 6-1.
In the semifinals, they lost to top-seeded Caleb Adams and Luke Gates of Selah 6-1, 6-0. In their match for state-qualifying third place, Morford and Morris were dealt a 6-2, 6-4 setback by sixth-seeded Noah Michael and Kaler Robie of Selah.
Ephrata freshmen Yael Hurtado and Peter Sanchez won their play-in match 6-4, 6-1 over Ellensburg's Colter Clasen and Atlas Walker, but lost to third-seeded Ben Meredith and Jace Ritchie of Othello 6-2, 6-2 in the first round. Tiger junior Ben McLain and senior Gavin Somes lost their play-in 6-3, 6-3 to George Arevalo and Isaac Roylance of Othello.
Boys singles
Neither of Ephrata's unseeded entries, both freshmen, got past the first round. Jeremiah Alvarez drew third-seeded Lleyton Fast of East Valley and lost 6-0, 6-0. Similarly, Athen Gault dropped a 6-0, 6-0 match to East Valley's Camden Hauver.
Girls singles
Sophomore Jillian Linehan beat Quincy's Maria Ortiz 6-0, 6-3 in the first round, but lost to second-seeded Rylie Carter of Toppenish 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. Junior Kate Maedke lost her opener 6-0, 6-2 to fifth-seeded Hope Button of Ellensburg.
Girls doubles
Tiger junior Milli Hope and freshman Kaitlyn Wolther beat Grandview's Karina Madera and Denisse Ortiz 6-0, 6-0 in the play-in, then lost 6-0, 6-2 to second-seeded McKenna Franklin and Grace Lester of Ellensburg in the first round.
EHS senior Lilly Brewer and junior Kara Davis lost a three-set play-in to Prosser's Lupe Gil and Iris Slonecker 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Freshman Maycee Black and junior Avery Gault dropped their play-in bout 6-4, 6-3 to East Valley's Gigi Morrier and Alexis Overacker.
2A CWD5 District Tennis Tournament
| 1 | Selah | 19 |
| 2 | East Valley | 17 |
| 3 | Prosser | 8 |
| T4 | Ellensburg | 4 |
| T4 | Ephrata | 4 |
| T4 | Grandview | 4 |
| T7 | Othello | 2 |
| T7 | Quincy | 2 |
| T7 | Toppenish | 2 |
| 1 | Othello | 18 |
| 2 | Toppenish | 11 |
| 3 | Prosser | 10 |
| 4 | Ellensburg | 9 |
| 5 | Selah | 6 |
| 6 | East Valley | 4 |
| T7 | Ephrata | 2 |
| T7 | Grandview | 2 |
| 9 | Quincy | 0 |
| 1 | Blake Gilman Prosser (2 seed) | State |
| 2 | Yohann Doshi Selah (1 seed) | State |
| 3 | Lleyton Fast East Valley (3 seed) | State |
| First round | Jeremiah Alvarez (Fr) | 0-6, 0-6 | L |
| First round | Athen Gault (Fr) | 0-6, 0-6 | L |
| 1 | Caleb Adams / Luke Gates Selah (1 seed) | State |
| 2 | Jeramy Garcia / Dawson Lean East Valley (2 seed) | State |
| 3 | Noah Michael / Kaler Robie Selah (6 seed) | State |
| 4 | Mitch Morford / Avery Morris Ephrata (5 seed) |
| First round | Morford / Morris (5) | 6-0, 6-0 | W |
| Quarterfinal | Morford / Morris (5) | 7-5, 6-1 | W |
| Semifinal | Morford / Morris (5) | 1-6, 0-6 | L |
| 3rd place | Morford / Morris (5) | 2-6, 4-6 | L |
| Play-in | Hurtado / Sanchez | 6-4, 6-1 | W |
| First round | Hurtado / Sanchez | 2-6, 2-6 | L |
| Play-in | McLain / Somes | 3-6, 3-6 | L |
| 1 | Hannah Sonnichsen Prosser (1 seed) | State |
| 2 | Olivia Harris Othello (3 seed) | State |
| 3 | Rylie Carter Toppenish (2 seed) | State |
| First round | Jillian Linehan (So) | 6-0, 6-3 | W |
| Quarterfinal | Jillian Linehan (So) | 0-6, 0-6 | L |
| First round | Kate Maedke (Jr) | 0-6, 2-6 | L |
| 1 | Shaylee Freeman / Faith Risenmay Othello (1 seed) | State |
| 2 | Kyra Hurley / Jaide Lopez Toppenish (3 seed) | State |
| 3 | McKenna Franklin / Grace Lester Ellensburg (2 seed) | State |
| Play-in | Hope / Wolther | 6-0, 6-0 | W |
| First round | Hope / Wolther | 0-6, 2-6 | L |
| Play-in | Brewer / Davis | 2-6, 6-4, 4-6 | L |
| Play-in | Black / Gault | 4-6, 3-6 | L |
