In her first year with the Bainbridge tennis team, junior Sasha Carter accomplished what no other girls singles player has done before – winning the Metro League, district, and state titles in one season.
With Carter’s win last Saturday and a fifth-place finish by Grace Porter and Kate Jameson in doubles play, the Spartans placed second in team competition with 16 points. Mercer Island won with 23 points.
Coach Mike Anderson said it was the highest team finish since Bainbridge placed second in 2A action in 1990.
Carter became the first Spartan to win the 3A girls individual title, defeating defending champion Natalie Allen 6-4, 6-2.
“Sasha played exceptionally well,” Anderson said. “She was always ahead.”
Carter won all of her state tournament matches in straight sets, dropping only four games in the first two rounds of play.
It was Carter’s fourth consecutive win over Allen this year, and Bainbridge’s first girls singles title since Sara Allen won the 2A championship in 1978.
Porter and Jameson advanced to the semifinals, where they fell to Mercer Island’s Chelsea Bailey and Julia Schubach.
In the third and fifth place game, Porter and Jameson lost to Mercer Island’s Kelly Crandell and Julia Zook 6-1, 6-4.
“They made marked improvement in the short time they were playing together,” Anderson said. “They played very well to make it to the semifinals.”
Porter, a junior, played singles most of the year before joining Jameson, a sophomore for the playoffs. Porter’s record in singles and doubles matches this year was a combined 19-3, which gives her a career record of 71-13 at BHS, Anderson said.
That’s second to Whitney Cheng, who had a 86-13 record during 2002-05 at Bainbridge.
BI Tennis Results
Sasha Carter, singles
First round: def. Lisa Kromholtz, Peninsula 6-0, 6-2
Quarterfinals: def. Lauren McCann, Capital 6-1, 6-1
Semifinals: def. Karin Chymcakova, North Central 6-2, 6-3
Final: def. Natalie Allen, Holy Names 6-4, 62
Grace Porter/Kate Jameson, doubles
First round: def. Julie Sanders/Breanna Pierece, Enumclaw 6-1, 6-0
Quarterfinals: def. Monica Gille/Sarah Desautels, Glacier Peak 6-0 6-0
Semifinals: lost to Chelsea Bailey/Julia Schubach 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
3rd/5th place game: lost to Kelly Crandell/Julia Zook 6-1, 6-4.
