LACEY — It’s not very common for a 3A school to schedule a 1B school in any fall sport in mid-October.
And it’s not very common that a school of about 120 students would be competitive in most sports against a school with an enrollment of about 1,600 students.
But with league and district tournaments days away, the River Ridge and Northwest Christian boys tennis teams met in their shared hometown on Monday, Oct. 12 for one of their final regular season tune-ups as postseason preparations ramp up.
The Hawks were challenged by the Wolverines in a 4-1 victory, with the visitors taking at least one game in every match. River Ridge won two singles matches and two doubles matches.
In first singles, however, Northwest Christian junior Oliver Hayward enjoyed the most dominant afternoon of anyone on the court, earning a double bagel in a 6-0, 6-0 triumph against Lucas Manter.
Hayward is coached by his father, Kevin Hayward, and has tennis in his blood on both sides of the family. Kevin played tennis in high school and was coached by his father, and Oliver’s maternal grandfather was a tennis pro at the Valley Athletic Club for over 25 years.
Oliver is a back-to-back district singles champion and is well on his way to another successful postseason this fall and then potentially this spring for the state tournament. He’s only lost one match so far this season.
“He’s a real competitor. He really wants to win. He’s always been a little on the small side, but physically, he’s come into his own a lot this year,” Kevin Hayward said of his son. “He’s hitting the ball a lot harder. He’s able to drive the ball with more authority this year. He’s taken his game to the next level.”
In first doubles, River Ridge senior captains Cole Von Rueden and Nicholas Dumitrescu defeated Northwest Christian’s Seth Miller and Addai Beck 6-2, 6-2. The two Hawks veterans, who have also played singles this season for the first time, are among those who have inspired a welcoming atmosphere for an otherwise young team in head coach David Ohrt’s first season as the leader of the program.
“They can compete with the best in the league. They fluidly switch from singles to doubles no problem,” Ohrt said. “They are ready to play their hearts out. Those two do a phenomenal job. They’ve been supportive of the team. They’ve run some captains’ practices. They come and work on a Saturday and play games for fun together. They’ve incorporated the younger players and made them feel like a big part of our family.”
Second doubles was a battle between Alex Gross and Shane Nguyen of River Ridge and Judah Egrubay and Noah Vaughan of Northwest Christian. The Hawks, which lost 12 seniors a season ago, have focused on their rebuilding process this year, and Gross and Nguyen are two sophomores who have shown plenty of potential.
“They’re phenomenal. They came out this year. (Assistant) coach (Jill) Hill recruited them out of her class, and they’ve been kicking butt,” Ohrt said. “You would not be able to tell they’re first-year tennis players.”
The second singles and third singles matches were both scored 6-1, 6-1, in favor of River Ridge, with Wyatt Riecke defeating Jacky Ye and Liam Pullapilly prevailing over Jace Beck.
Northwest Christian has eight players on its roster, with two new to the sport of tennis this fall. With a schedule that has featured plenty of travel and contests against much bigger schools, Kevin Hayward has been impressed with how his team has stacked up against programs that triple or quadruple their roster size.
“They say you should pick on somebody your own size. There’s not that many that are our own size,” Hayward said. “It’s a group that’s still learning and getting better. It’s always good when we see a battle, win or lose. They’ve competed.”
Northwest Christian is one of three schools in its district that will compete in the 1B/2B Bi-District 1/2 tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at Galbraith Tennis Center in Tacoma. The Wolverines carry some postseason experience, as Hayward was a win away from advancing to the third/fourth game at the 1B/2B state tournament last spring, and Miller and Grant Bouwman qualified for 1B/2B state doubles last season.
Northwest Christian’s regular season finale will be held at home on Wednesday, Oct. 14 against Shelton.
River Ridge is preparing to punch more tickets to the Puget Sound League Tournament, also held in Tacoma from Oct. 22 through Oct. 23. The Hawks must first visit Capital on Tuesday, Oct. 13 and Timberline on Thursday, Oct. 15.
