The Yelm boys tennis team opened up the 2026 season with a 3-2 victory against Graham-Kapowsin at home Tuesday afternoon. It was the first match under new head coach Keith McLaren, who picked up his first win.
In his singles debut, and his No. 1 singles debut at that, Yelm’s Tanner Elmore fell to Graham-Kapowsin’s Jacob Vivian in straight sets 6-2, 6-0. Yelm’s Miles Ackerman defeated GK’s Nathan Heindselman 6-2, 6-0, behind impressive speed and defensive tenacity.
The No. 1 doubles match was the match of the afternoon, with Aidan Walton and Josiah Leonard of Yelm rallying to knock off William Christianson and Cooper Abrams of Graham-Kapowsin in a tiebreaker 2-6, 7-6, 10-6.
Walton and Leonard fought for their competitive lives in the second set, coming back from a 5-2 deficit to win the set 7-6 in a tiebreak.
“Once they built that confidence, there was little that could be done to stop them,” McLaren said. “William and Cooper were always willing to engage all points and fought to the end. No team had a deep advantage until the very end, and both pairings were great at communicating with each other and supporting each other.”
Yelm’s Chance Whiting and Deegan Anderson topped GK’s Larson Heindselman and Keanu-Rai Dirige 6-3, 7-5, in another match that required the Tornados to rally with their backs against the wall.
“The score doesn’t do it justice,” McLaren said. “Larson and Keanu-Rai kept Chance and Deegan on their toes, but, when the points mattered, Chance and Deegan worked together and came back at key moments.”
In the final doubles match, Yelm’s Mister Rabang-Davis and Caylum Tucker fell to GK’s Nathan Paige and Kaedan Van Gleason 0-6, 2-6. McLaren said this was a “last-minute pairing” that worked well together that had no experience playing doubles as a pair, neither in practice or in a match.
Yelm will head north Wednesday to face River Ridge before hosting Sumner on Thursday.
