Girls tennis finishes second in Great Northern League

The Cheney High girls’ tennis team ended the regular season on a high note after their 5-2 win over West Valley, May 9. The Blackhawks finished with a 6-2 Great Northern League record, 11-3 overall and second place in the league standings.

“Last year we finished with a 10-4 record and this year we were 11-3,” head coach Jason Overland said, referring to his goal of ending the regular season with a better overall record than last year. “Our players are playing some really good tennis and peaking at the right moment.”

Cheney swept the Eagles in singles play. Bridget Calvert, No. 1, defeated Ana Raney (6-1, 6-2) to finish the season undefeated in league competition. No. 2 Emily Howard won her match against Xena Chhoeun (6-2, 6-0), No. 3 Alannah Lewis shut out Jenelle Long (6-0, 6-0) and No. 4 Caitlyn Strong defeated Megeret Dohhen (6-0, 6-1).

No. 3 Taylor Gould and Zeb Potter picked up Cheney’s only doubles win after their victory over Elizabeth Ellis and Tierney Cathcart (6-2, 6-0).

Cheney returns to action at the District 7 tournament May 20-21 at Washington State University. Calvert took third place at last year’s district tournament after she lost to Katelynn Smedley in the second-place match.

Overland said the team would finalize the districts lineup on Tuesday, then “get a few good practices in” before the event. He noted that Calvert will be one of the three Cheney players in the singles tournament.

“If Bridget, the other two singles players and our doubles work hard, then I think we have a shot (to do well),” Overland said.

Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.