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PREP TENNIS O'Brien goes for rare four-peat Senior has new doubles partner in Kim, but same expectations heading into state meet Comment By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted May. 19, 2015 at 9:49 AM By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted May. 19, 2015 at 9:49 AM » Social News Midway through the 2012 tennis season, Vika O’Brien, then a wide-eyed freshman, teamed up with a sophomore named Hannah Greenberg to form what would become the most dominant doubles team in the state, a juggernaut combo that ended up claiming the next three Class 5A state championships for Ashland. Those hoping that Greenberg’s graduation last June would finally open the door for the rest of Oregon’s 5A doubles hopefuls may have been disappointed to see the recently released 2015 state tennis brackets, because sitting at the top of the 16-team 5A doubles field and stamped with the No. 1 seed once again was — surprise, surprise — O’Brien. The boys and girls state tennis tournament will be held Thursday through Saturday at the West Hills Racquet and Fitness Club in Portland and the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center in Beaverton. O’Brien’s a senior now and enters her final high school tournament with a new doubles partner, fellow senior and longtime friend Anne Kim, but O’Brien’s expectations remain the same: she wants to win it all, of course, and walk off into the prep tennis sunset in mic-drop fashion, proud owner of an unbeatable, trophy-hogging four-peat. “That’d be amazing,” said O’Brien, who will continue playing tennis next year at Lewis & Clark College in Portland. “It’s never happened at Ashland High School, so it’s great to start something new. So that makes it a great accomplishment and a great goal to strive for.” Ashland isn’t the only place it’s never happened. While there have been several four-peat girls singles champions, most recently Jesuit’s Erin Larner’s 6A run 2011-14, only one girls doubles player has captured four state championship trophies since the OSAA began handing them out in 1946 — Rebecca Berger of Hermiston, who won two alongside partner Rachel Berger in 2004 and 2005 and two more with partner Richole Berger in 2006 and 2007. For the most part, O’Brien and Greenberg steamrolled through the state tournament every year they played together. Their most competitive match was a 6-3, 7-5 quarterfinal victory in 2012, they were never pushed to three sets and last year they won 48 of a combined 51 games at state. Neither O’Brien nor Kim expects to cruise through the tournament quite so easily this year, and Kim admits that the pressure of playing for a piece of girls tennis history is a challenge in itself. “It’s definitely really stressful,” she said. “It’s a lot of pressure on me to play really well, especially this year because there’s another doubles team that’s really good with players that we’ve played in USTA tournaments.” That team is the No. 2-seeded tandem of Sierra Winch and Jesse Vezo of Bend. O’Brien and Kim wouldn’t have to face Winch and Vezo until the championship match Saturday. Before that, Ashland’s top doubles team, which won the Midwestern League district title last week, may have to beat the No. 3-seeded team, Lia VanSteeter and Anjali Chikkalingaiah of Crescent Valley. After playing with the same partner for so long, O’Brien said that adjusting to a new partner and Kim’s playing style, which differs greatly from Greenberg’s, took some time. They suffered a nonconference loss to Grants Pass as part of those growing pains, but have been perfect otherwise and head to state with a 14-1 record. O’Brien’s solid baseline game and strong serve proved to be the perfect match for Greenberg’s volley prowess, but Kim’s ability to keep rallies going from the baseline has changed the dynamic of Ashland’s No. 1 doubles team. “She usually stays back unless there’s a short ball and she has to run up,” O’Brien said of Kim. “Sometimes she comes up, but not very often. And she’s definitely more laid back than me, but having known her for so long we can have fun on the court together. We bring each other up and cheer each other on, and we both really get into it.” Kim agreed, and added that she would love to help O’Brien make a little state tennis history this week. “It would be really amazing to be a part of that and it puts even more pressure on me,” she said, “but I’m pretty confident I’ll do well. I really want to win the title, but not for myself — for Vika. I’m not really a competitive person but I’m competitive for her. I want her to have the title.” Also representing Ashland at state this week will be girls singles player Ashley Knecht, who landed the No. 3 seed, boys singles player Mischa Kirby and two boys doubles teams — David Lee and Kai Weston, and freshmen Rox Rogers and Nur Shelton. Knecht is on the same side of the bracket as second-seeded Tessa Kern, a freshman from Corvallis. Joe Zavala can be reached at 541-821-0829 or [email protected]. By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted May. 19, 2015 at 9:49 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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