Netters preparing for league tournament

As the regular season draws to a close, the Bremerton boys tennis team is readying for a postseason run.

The Knights, who wrap up league play today against North Kitsap, have five hitters who coach Casey Lindberg believes are capable of earning a berth to the district tournament.

No. 1 singles player An Ho leads that charge, followed by No. 1 doubles team James Hill and Justin Wells and No. 2 doubles team Doug Erickson and Matt Pohl, both of whom are sophomores.

“An is probably the third- or fourth-best singles player in the league,” Lindberg said of Ho, who dropped his third match of the season Monday in a 6-1, 6-0 loss to undefeated Cory Smith of Olympic.

Ho would need to finish first or second at the Olympic League Tournament, which begins Oct. 16, to earn a berth to the district tournament. That means, depending on the draw, he would have to beat either Smith or Zach Fohn, a sophomore from North Kitsap who edged Ho “quite soundly” Sept. 18. Micah Roos of Port Angeles, with whom Ho split matches this season, also will be in the mix for a berth to districts in singles play.

Teams are allotted three singles players and four doubles teams for the league tournament, with the top two finishers in each category moving to districts.

“To say it’s a lock that any of our players will go to districts would be foolish,” Lindberg said.

He called Hill and Wells, both of whom have seen action at singles, “definitely our best doubles team.” The duo beat Olympic’s Ryan Lindsay and Anthony Jeffries 6-1, 6-3 Monday to help the Knights to a 5-2 victory.

“I think they can complete for a spot to districts,” Lindberg said.

Pohl and Erickson also could make a run toward districts, he added, but the tandem would have to pull off at least one upset at leagues. They beat Olympic’s Dylan Vaughan and Mitchell Brown 6-0, 6-1 in No. 2 doubles action Monday and have played together every match this season.

“The league championships are going to be interesting,” Lindberg said.

The two-day tournament concludes Oct. 17. The league’s Class 3A schools — Bremerton, North Kitsap, Port Angeles and Sequim — will compete against one another at North Kitsap High School, while 2A schools Klahowya, Kingston, North Mason and Port Townsend will compete at BHS.

Contact Bremerton Patriot Sports writer Wesley Remmer at wremmer@bremertonpatriot.com or (360) 308-9161.

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