CORVALLIS -- Raegan Farm and Patricia Dougherty had plenty of history, facing each other Saturday for the fourth time in a little over a year.
Neither thought it was an advantage or disadvantage knowing one another's games so well going into the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 4A/3A/2A/1A girls tennis singles final, but rather just another match to play your own game and see what happens from there.
Farm lost to Dougherty, a Klamath Union senior, in last year's state final. But Farm, a North Bend sophomore, came out on top this time as she claimed a 6-3, 6-1 victory at Oregon State Tennis Complex.
"It's how you feel and how you feel like you're playing that day," Farm said of meeting Dougherty, a three-time state singles champion, again after so much court time together.
Farm won the district finals against Dougherty each of the past two seasons. Farm said last week's 6-4, 6-4 win didn't give her any confidence because "every match is different for me."
Dougherty won the 4A Showcase in 2021, when no OSAA state championships were held due to the pandemic, and followed that with OSAA titles the past two seasons. She said she was able to play well despite the pressure she's felt back home in Klamath Falls and that once she arrived at the tournament this week on the OSU campus.
"I think it was a pretty good day, but Raegan just had a better day," Dougherty said. "She was playing great. It was amazing."
Farm said it was hard not to look ahead further in the tournament to a potential rematch with Dougherty. Saturday, Farm said she was focused on consistency and racquet prep. Losing to Dougherty in the 2023 final had her attention.
"It was a lot," Farm said of her motivation. "I was training really hard year-round."
Dougherty praised Farm's play. When asked about her opponent's strengths, Dougherty said "I think everything. She's such a tough player. She's definitely worked hard to make everything pretty much flawless in her game."
Marist Catholic's Whitney Hedden defeated Philomath's Bailey Bell (6-2, 6-2) for third place, helping the Spartans to the team title with 20.5 points. North Bend, Oregon Episcopal, St. Mary's and Vale all tied for second with 10 points. Bell was fourth in 2022 and third in 2023.
Vale's Elise Seals and Ellie Seals won the doubles championship by defeating Carys Chamberland and Pratheeka Weerakoon of St. Mary's, 6-2, 6-1. Weerakoon was on the state runner-up doubles team in 2022. In the third-place match, Marist's Phoebie Larson and Stella Larson got past teammates Haley Ross and Talia Tyner, 7-5, 6-3.
Boys
Like Farm, Marist sophomore EJ Roedl had some redemption on his mind after falling in the 2023 state singles final.
Roedl found what he was looking for in a 6-1, 6-2 win versus Catlin Gabel freshman Zareh Gonzalvo.
"I worked really hard in the offseason to get a lot better and I think it paid off," said Roedl, who saw his on-court time the past few weeks limited by a back injury. Last offseason, he worked on improving his serving percentage and hitting the ball higher. He said Saturday he found success hitting his forehand well.
Roedl and the Spartans repeated as the team champions, and again Oregon Episcopal was second. Marist finished with 36.5 points, followed by OES (24), Catlin Gabel (19) and St. Mary's (10.5). Marist was state runner-up in 2022.
"It's a lot of fun," Roedl said of playing on such a strong team. "Gets me better, gets them better. I love Marist. It's a great school, a great team."
Roedl knew Gonzalvo was a good player, having seen him at other tournaments. "He's fast, got around the court, got to a lot of balls and fought really hard," Roedl said.
Reid Ravassipour of St. Mary's took third in singles after defeating Oregon Episcopal's Mason Do, 6-0, 6-3. Marist's Peyton Tyner and Andrew Forsyth won the doubles times after beating Oregon Episcopal's Lucas Olander and Richard Li, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Tyner was a doubles champion in 2023 after taking second in 2022. Catlin Gabel claimed third in doubles as Nathan Chen and Riley Nordhoff defeated Marist's Burkeley Knight-Sheen and Will Barsotti, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
