Five advance to district in tennis

Raider tennis players performed well in the league tournament this past weekend, and five players will compete at the district level today and Saturday.

Advancing to district in the boys’ singles event are Raiders Malcolm Carson and Bradley Wilder.

Carson placed second at the league tournament. “Malcolm played his best tennis of the season, which is what you’re hoping to do,” said Head Coach Steve Archer. “He got stronger as the tournament progressed.”

Playing for Lake Roosevelt, a 2B-level school, Carson will face off against the A schools’ third-place finisher at the district competition.

Bradley Wilder finished in third place, fighting through a leg cramp to win his final match.

“I was one proud coach,” Archer said. “The whole team was there cheering him on. It was a memorable moment.”

Wilder will face off against the second-place finisher from the A league.

Advancing to districts in girls’ doubles are Shay Schilling and Raven Clark, who placed third in the league.

“You could see real delight on their faces,” Archer said about Schilling and Clark, who will face off against the second-place finishers from the A league.

Advancing in girls’ singles is Rylee Pitner, who finished in fourth place.

“She went into the tournament seeded at number eight,” Archer said. Her second match of the day was against number-one seed Logan Butler from Liberty Bell. “This match was the upset of the tournament,” Archer said.

Pitner won with a score of 6-4, 6-4 against Butler.

“She played her best tennis of the year during this match,” Archer said of Pitner, who went 2-2 for the day.

Pitner will face off against the A schools’ champion.

The district championship will have singles matches played at the North Cascades Athletic Club in Omak, and doubles at Omak High School.

District play begins at 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, and continues at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 19.

“This tournament includes our league’s top four finishers from last week’s league tournament and the top four finishers from the A schools (Omak, Okanogan, Chelan, Cascade, and Cashmere),” Archer explained. “The top four boys finishers and the top three girls advance to state in Yakima the following weekend.”