Preseason is normally used as a time for athletes to polish up their skills before playing in meets that will determine the outcome of their season. For the Lake Washington High School boys tennis team, the preseason might have been the biggest challenge of the season. Losses to perennial powerhouse Mercer Island, Bellevue and Newport were learning experiences.
“We were playing nationally ranked players in those matches,” said Kangs head coach Rob Krause. “We just told them that every time the ball comes back, it makes you better. Unforced errors won’t make you better.”
The coach may be right. Lake Washington began the regular season Thursday by destroying league rival Inglemoor 6-1.
“We have some really talented athletes,” said Krause. “But they are seasonal players. Our team wants to work hard. They wanted to do double conditioning.”
That work ethic payed off as team captain Eliot Low beat Inglemoor’s Trevor Shih in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
“(Low) has every quality you want in a captain,” said Krause. “He is the total package.”
Matthew Lim competed at No. 2 singles for the Kangs and narrowly beat Stepan Bach, 7-6, 5-7, 6-3, while Kang Satoshi Matsuura defeated Adam
Brownat, 6-4, 6-4, during the No. 3 singles match. Lake Washington’s Nikola Lakic suffered the team’s only loss in a grueling, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, match.
The Kangs swept the doubles matches, as the team’s No. 1 pair, Patrick McCarthy and Ken Narita, won in straight sets, 7-5, 7-6, against Ryan
Jensen and Jerry Jiang of Inglemoor. Lake Washington’s Quentin Behr and CJ Donahoe teamed up for a 6-2, 6-4, victory against the Vikings’ Glen Zinck and Eric Chin, while Jordan Cox and Rodion Khruzhenko completed the sweep with a 6-4, 5-7, 1-0, win against Stanley Wang and Paul Pisani.
Karause said that time spent after matches with his players can be as important as any practice.
“We talk about technique and the parts of the game where they can improve,” said Krause.
The Kangs will move on to host Bothell at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Juanita 4, Bothell 3
The Juanita boys tennis team defeated Bothell Thursday, 4-3.
The Rebels’ biggest victories came as they swept the doubles matches. Juanita’s Anthony Cardinelli and Danny Zens beat Tim Bultman and Davis Kimball, 6-1, 6-2, True Vue and Michael Chang beat Mitchell Viydo and Kevin Mcshane, 6-1, 6-2, and Leong Huh and Garrett beat Anthony Miner and Evan McCall, 6-4, 6-7(7-9), 6-0.
The only win for Juanita in singles action came from an unlikely place – the No. 4-seed match. Needing the match win to complete the victory against Bothell, Hugo Romero wasted no time in dispatching Jake Arlan, 6-1, 6-0.
Juanita and Lake Washington will play an intercity exhibition at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Juanita High School.
