They didn’t crown any individual champions.
And by the end of the South Puget Sound League boys tennis tournament last week at Kent-Meridian High, they were seeing double. But for the Kentridge High boys tennis team, it all perfectly added up in the end. Behind top-10 performances from three doubles tandems, the Chargers pulled away from the field, grabbing the team title with 36 points.
The Chargers, who were led by third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishes in doubles play, barely held off Thomas Jefferson, which finished with 34 points. After the Big Two, Emerald Ridge (22 points), Puyallup (18) and Kentwood (18) rounded out the top five.
“We really stressed doubles this year,” explained Kentridge coach Bob Armstrong. “I forced them to go to the net. Our motto was ‘Go in or go home.’”
During the SPSL tournament, the Charger did just that. Howard Lin and Alex Yi upended Kentwood’s Paul Lennick and Chris Rumer 6-0, 6-4 for a third-place finish. Lin and Yi were Kentridge’s highest placers of the tournament. Also grabbing top 10 finishes for the Chargers were doubles partners Henry Ly and Daniel Ablog (fourth) along with James Dugan and Randy Huynh (5th).
Though Kentridge has developed a strong tennis tradition under Armstrong, who is in his 11th season this year, the tournament title proved to be somewhat of a surprise due to the big hit the program took by graduation.
Kentridge graduated state veterans Matt Overland, Garrett Ballou, Paul Yi and Vineeth Omkaram, among others.
“This has really been my most satisfying year,” Armstrong said. “These are the nicest bunch of kids ever. There were no egos or funny business. And they were really hard workers.”
The top 10 placers in the singles and doubles portions of the league tournament earned berths to the West Central District tournament, which is slated for May at Sprinker Recreation Center in Spanaway.
Along with Lennick and Rumer, Kentwood’s Alex Noyes also will advance to the district tournament. Noyes fell to Kent-Meridian standout David Mardakov 6-2, 6-4 in the third/sixth-place match. Kentlake’s Shane and Brandon Wilson were the only other two locals to earn a district berth, taking 10th in doubles.
For Kentridge, the tournament title marked the end of another flawless fall season. The Chargers wrapped up their fifth straight regular season title on Oct. 6 with a 4-1 victory over Kentwood, a victory gave Kentridge a 10-0 record.
It’s Kentridge’s fourth consecutive unbeaten season. In fact, the Chargers haven’t lost a league match since falling to Kentwood on Sept. 29, 2006 (3-2).
“I remember it very clearly,” said Armstrong, who has a 135-12 record in 11 seasons at the helm of the program. “(Matt) Overland was sick, throwing up … and (Kentwood had James) Ravotti, who was just a wall.”
Kentridge has won 52 consecutive SPSL North matches since that loss.
Now, however, it’s about the district tournament and earning state berths.
“I think all three of our doubles teams (could get to state) because they’re really close,” Armstrong said.
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