The doubles team of Josh Frey, left, and Jesse Schulz is headed to the state tennis meet after taking first place at the regional competition.
After a one-year absence, Liberty Bell High School’s tennis team will once again be represented at the state championship meet starting Thursday (May 26) in Yakima.
The Mountain Lion boys’ doubles team of Josh Frey and Jesse Schulz took first place in last week’s regional tournament to advance to the state meet. They began with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Cascade, then endured a long match against Chelan to prevail 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
That put them in the championship match against Entiat. The Mountain Lion duo needed three sets but won by the identical score as in the semifinals: 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
The state meet is a double-elimination tournament.
On the girls’ side, the Liberty Bell doubles team of Erin Frey and Ruthann Matteson dropped their first match to Chelan, 1-6, 6-7, then were eliminated by a 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 loss to White Swan.
Coach Dave Schulz said that height was a factor in the boys’ doubles competition — Josh Frey and Jesse Schulz are both tall enough that not many balls get past them, the coach said. “They get to shots that I think they won’t,” he said.
Schulz said he was pleased with the team’s overall performance this year, especially since there were so few seniors. He anticipates that this year’s eighth-, ninth- and tenth-grade players will make progress next year.
