From the moment Jesuit junior Peter Murphy fell in straight sets to Summit sophomore Nate Bonetto in the final of the Jesuit Tournament a month ago, a buzz started about a potential high-stakes rematch.
Murphy, the two-time reigning 6A boys tennis singles champion, surely would be ready to defend his crown against Bonetto in the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union state championships this week.
It isn’t to be, however. Bonetto, who spent his freshman year at a tennis academy in California, suffered a hip injury and was unable to participate in his district tournament.
“It’s really sad,” Jesuit coach Jeff Wood said. “He’s a beautiful player. It would’ve been fun to watch. It’s a bummer for everybody because you want to have the best players there to compete. I know Peter was absolutely dying to play him.”
Murphy went back to the drawing board after the stunning 6-2, 6-1 loss to Bonetto and has been dominant in recent weeks. He takes the No. 1 seed into the state tournament, set for Thursday through Saturday at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center in Beaverton.
“Peter broke down the things he could do to improve and he spent the last couple weeks working on them,” Wood said. “Peter loves a challenge. That’s the part of it that he loves, the battle. He likes to play the toughest guys.”
Murphy must contend with a field that includes Sprague junior Judson Blair and Lincoln senior Avi Shugar, who are seeded second and third, respectively. Blair lost to Murphy in the quarterfinals last year. The Alabama-bound Shugar fell to Murphy in split sets in the semifinals a year ago.
“There are a lot of tough guys out there other than Nate Bonetto,” Wood said. “There are going to be a lot of great matches to see.”
Murphy will try to lead Jesuit to another team title. The Crusaders have won 10 of the last 11 championships, including the last three. Their primary competition appears to be Summit, which has moved up after winning the last five 5A titles, and Lincoln, runner-up the last two years.
Jesuit piles up points with its doubles teams. Last year, the Crusaders had four doubles teams in the quarterfinals, three in the semifinals and two in the final.
Both finalist teams are back. Senior Tommy Hallgren and junior Jaden D’Abreo, last year’s winners, are seeded first. Juniors Spencer Barnett and Connor Barnett, runners-up a year ago, are seeded seventh.
“Kallgren and D’Abreo look great, even stronger than last year,” Wood said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do.”
The Crusaders have four entries in the doubles bracket, which is loaded with potential contenders.
The Lincoln team of senior Danny Luo and junior James Chen made the semifinals last year. Summit juniors David Feldman and Ryan Abbott, last year’s 5A champions, and Summit seniors Joshua Marine and Dylan Warren, the 5A runners-up, are threats. And there’s the No. 3 seed, Lakeridge senior Andrew Slominski and sophomore Colton Lowry.
“The doubles draw is deep in 6A,” Wood said. “We’re going to chew each other up and see who can score the most points. It’s going to be a close one, I think.”
OSAA TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
BOYS
6A
Tualatin Hills Tennis Center, Thursday-Saturday
2018 team scores: Jesuit 38, Lincoln 20, Lakeridge 10
Returning champions: Peter Murphy, Jesuit (singles); Tommy Kallgren/Jaden D’Abreo, Jesuit (doubles)
Top singles seeds: 1. Peter Murphy, jr. Jesuit; 2. Judson Blair, jr., Sprague; 3. Avi Shugar, sr., Lincoln; 4. Jack Ninteman, sr., Lakeridge
Top doubles seeds: 1. Tommy Kallgren, sr./Jaden D’Abreo, jr., Jesuit; 2. Danny Luo, sr./James Chen, jr., Lincoln; 3. Andrew Slominski, sr./Colton Lowry, soph., Lakeridge; 4. Joshua Marine, sr./Dylan Warren, sr., Summit
Notes: In last year’s tournament, Murphy defeated Blair in the quarterfinals and Shugar in the semifinals. … Ninteman made the quarterfinals. … Kallgren/D’Abreo beat Luo/Chen in the semifinals.
5A
Portland Tennis Center, Tualatin Hills Tennis Center, Friday-Saturday
2018 team scores: Summit 26, Ashland 11, Marist Catholic 8
Returning champions: none
Top singles seeds: 1. Alle Banna, jr., Churchill; 2. Bojan Soskic, jr., Crescent Valley; 3. Bryan Duncan, jr., Thurston; 4. Braeden Brooks, jr., Redmond
Top doubles seeds: 1. Benny Saito, sr./Skyler Jones, soph., Redmond; 2. Eddie Hu, soph./Lukas Reinkenobbe, sr., Corvallis; 3. Ronny Junkins, soph./Evan Kooyman, sr., Crescent Valley; 4. Nico Hey, sr./Wade Nichols, soph., La Salle Prep
Notes: The team race is open after Summit, winner of eight titles since 2009, left for 6A and Marist Catholic dropped to 4A. … Banna reached the semifinals last year. … Hey was a singles quarterfinalist in 2018.
4A/3A/2A/1A
Oregon State University, Friday-Saturday
2018 team scores: Oregon Episcopal 14, Catlin Gabel 11, Marshfield 8, Philomath 8
Returning champions: Max Nicolaus/Josh Nicolaus, Marshfield (doubles)
Top singles seeds: 1. Kristian Peev, sr., Valley Catholic; 2. Grant North, soph., Catlin Gabel; 3. Jackson Whittaker, soph., Marist Catholic; 4. Zachary Schwin, sr., Baker / Powder Valley
Top doubles seeds: 1. Max Nicolaus, sr./Josh Nicolaus, sr., Marshfield; 2. Luke Haslam, jr./Nick Stucki, soph., Philomath; 3. Jake Girard, sr./Will Silver, fr., Catlin Gabel; 4. Shiloh Day, soph./Tod To, sr., Oregon Episcopal
Notes: Peev was the 2018 runner-up. … North made the doubles semifinals last year. … Whittaker was a 5A semifinalist. … Schwin reached the quarterfinals last year. … The Nicolauses were Marshfield’s first doubles champion since 1959. … Haslam was doubles runner-up with Antoine Feld last year. ... Oregon Episcopal has won seven consecutive team championships.
GIRLS
6A
Tualatin Hills Tennis Center, Thursday-Saturday
2018 team scores: Lake Oswego 20, Roseburg 18, Jesuit 16, Sunset 16
Returning champions: none
Top singles seeds: 1. Serim Jin, sr., Sunset; 2. Karolina Dobiecka, fr., Westview; 3. Mariam Nechiporuk, soph., Lake Oswego; 4. Cassidy Binder, jr., Beaverton
Top doubles seeds: 1. Bo-bae Yu, jr./Jin Yu, jr., Sunset; 2. Maggie Satchwell, sr./Julia Rees, jr., Lincoln; 3. Yara Chehab, jr./Lucy Erickson, soph., Sunset; 4. Jayda Pieske, soph./Sam Eichman, jr., Roseburg
Notes: Lizzy Stevens, who repeated as singles champion as a sophomore at Tigard last year, did not play this season. … Jin, a semifinalist as a freshman and runner-up to Stevens as a sophomore, did not play high school tennis as a junior. … Nechiporuk reached the semifinals last year before falling to Stevens. … Binder has switched to singles after winning the 2018 doubles title with her sister, Sydnie. … Rees won the 2017 doubles title with her sister, Emily. … Sunset’s Yu sisters finished second last year.
5A
Portland Tennis Center, Tualatin Hills Tennis Center, Friday-Saturday
2018 team scores: Corvallis 30, Summit 10.5, Marist Catholic 9
Returning champions: Anna Kern, Corvallis (singles 2017, 2018); Olivia McGough/Sarah Forester, Corvallis (doubles)
Top singles seeds: 1. Anna Kern, sr., Corvallis; 2. Journey Lipscomb, jr., Corvallis; 3. Ceanne Elliott, sr., West Albany; 4. Alyssa Retiz, soph., Ashland
Top doubles seeds: 1. Olivia McGough, sr./Sarah Forester, jr., Corvallis; 2. Alyssa Khiew, sr./Aneisa Fink, jr., Silverton; 3. Macy Metcalf, sr./Adrianna Frank, fr., North Bend; 4. Felicity Kohler, sr./Megan Aldredge, sr., Ridgeview
Notes: Corvallis has won four consecutive state titles. Kern repeated as single champion last year, defeating her sister, Tessa, in the final. … Lipscomb fell to Tessa Kern in the semifinals a year ago. … McGough and Forester are the reigning doubles state champions.
4A/3A/2A/1A
Oregon State University, Friday-Saturday
2018 team scores: Oregon Episcopal 16, Cascade 8, Klamath Union 8
Returning champions: Courtlyn Lam, Klamath Union (singles)
Top singles seeds: 1. Courtlyn Lam, sr., Klamath Union; 2. Lola Diaz, fr., Catlin Gabel; 3. Susanna Anand, fr., Corbett; 4. Anna Semler, fr., Catlin Gabel
Top doubles seeds: 1. Sona Shenoy, fr./Nicole Anderson, fr., Oregon Episcopal; 2. Jessica Olivera, sr./Erika Olivera, sr., Madras; 3. Rachel Yoken, soph./Arushi Phalke, jr., Catlin Gabel; 4. Nithya Vaikuntam, sr./Kira Weigel, fr., Marist Catholic
Notes: In last year’s final, Lam rallied from a 5-2 deficit in the third set to defeat Oregon Episcopal’s Kate Keeney 7-5. She became the first singles champion for Klamath Union in 22 years. … Lam is a junior at Triad, a nearby 1A school without a tennis team, but is technically a senior for the Pelicans. … Oregon Episcopal has won the last two team titles and eight of the last 11. … Marist Catholic’s Vaikuntam was a 5A doubles semifinalist with a different partner last year.
Photos from state championship events are available from Northwest Sports Photography at 4nsp.com
jerryu@osaa.org
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