Document text
Despite setbacks, Tornado girls storm on Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli North Medford's Shannon Leever, back, gets ready to serve while teammate Annie Chaney gets into position in Thursday's SOC girls district championship. The duo defeated Ashland's Molly Grossmann and Sam Holtey, 6-1, 6-1, in the doubles competition. North Medford stays in contention for a sixth straight SOC title after the first round of the district championship By DON HUNT One year after winning the Class 4A state championship, the North Medford High girls tennis team has taken a couple of shots to the bow. Before the season started, defending state singles champion Jenny Brown announced she was going to focus on the junior circuit and wouldn't be turning out. Midway through the season, the new No. 1 singles player - freshman Erin Chamberland - said her heart was no longer in the sport and quit the team. A double setback of such enormity would lay waste to some teams, but the Black Tornado took a deep breath, gritted its teeth and took aim at a sixth straight Southern Oregon Conference district championship. Fueled by its three top doubles teams, the Tornado stayed in contention with favored Roseburg and perennial contender Ashland Thursday during the opening day of district at the North Medford courts. The tournament picks up Saturday at 10 a.m. Annie Chaney and Shannon Leever, North Medford's top-ranked doubles team, lost only two games in two matches Thursday. April Louie and McKenzie Helmer, the No. 3 seeds, and Melissa Witten and Beth Alston, the No. 5 seeds, also advanced into Saturday's quarterfinal round. Roseburg's Stacy Wetmore and Becky Correll, the top two seeds in singles, also encountered little resistance as each player romped through two matches in straight sets to reach the quarters. "With all the uncertainty we've had, I couldn't be more proud of these girls," North head coach Dale Jensen said. "It's not like we've lost all our talent, but we no longer have any room for error if we're going to win this thing again. And the girls really stepped it up today." None more so than Witten and Alston, who upset Sonu Allen and Lynsee Gonzales, Roseburg's No. 4-seeded doubles team, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, to earn the Tornado some valuable points, not to mention a trip to the state tournament next week in Portland. The top four singles and doubles teams qualify for state. "That was big," said Jensen of the Witten-Alston victory. Witten and Alston squandered two match points in the third set before Witten finally ended it with a forehand smash near the net. "We knew we had the match - it was just a matter of finishing strong," Witten said. "We lost to (Allen and Gonzales) earlier this season in Roseburg, but today we got off to a good start and we carried it through." Added Alston: "This will be our first trip to state, and it feels great because we've been playing together for three years." Chaney and Leever hooked up as a doubles team just this season, but the junior tandem has quickly blossomed into one of the state's best. Their two victories Thursday ran their season record to 8-0. Last year, Chaney won a state championship in doubles with the graduated Leslie Schultz. "We've been practicing about three hours a day for the last week to get ready for this," Chaney said. Chaney and Leever have been friends since they first began taking lessons at the Southern Oregon Tennis Club more than a decade ago. That's in contrast to Chaney and Schultz, who formed a workable rapport on the court but were distant off it. "Halfway through last season we weren't even talking to each other," Chaney said. "Something happened - I think I was late to practice - and she got mad. "We had good chemistry on the court, especially at state, but I definitely feel more comfortable playing with Shannon. If one of us is having a bad day, the other one picks her up." Leever, who advanced to the state tournament in doubles last season while teaming with Louie, is an aggressive player who isn't afraid to attack the net. Chaney's forte is the baseline, and so the two complement each other well. "The first time we got on the court as doubles partners, we clicked," Leever said. "There's going to be some good players at state, but I think we'll be able to hold our own." Unseeded freshman Sonia Aguilera also gave the Tornado a lift Thursday when she won two matches, including a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 upset of No. 7-seeded Rachel Frires of Ashland. Aguilera then lost to the top-seeded Correll, 6-0, 6-0, in the quarterfinals. Ashland was led by fourth-seeded singles player Justine Bowen-Jones, who beat South Medford's Margaret Moore, 6-1, 6-1, and North Medford's Kelsey Thornton, 6-0, 6-0, to reach the quarterfinal round. The Grizzlies' No. 2-seeded doubles tandem of Jessica Baker and Ali Gardiner also advanced to the quarters. Megan Moon represented Grants Pass' lone quarterfinalist, but the No. 3 singles seed had to rally for a 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 win over fifth-seed Kendra Ira of North Medford. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.