Medical Lake girls have new late season strategy

By PAUL DELANEY

Staff Reporter

So when does the game of tennis

take on the feel of chess?

As the post-season tournaments

loom, that’s when.

That’s what Medical Lake’s

girls’ tennis team coach Dawn

Eliassen has in her sights as her

Cards take part in what she called

“a brutal week” of competition.

The Cardinals hit the road

for matches in Colville (April 27)

and then in Pullman, today (April

29). Then it’s on to the non-stop

competition of the annual Inland

Empire Tournament that runs all

day Friday and Saturday.

“I mixed up the line-up the

week before last,” Eliassen said

and moved Nyssa VanMeter and

Kylie Tareski into doubles, along

with shifting Danielle Von Lehe

and Heather Butler into singles.

The strategy appears to have

worked as Medical Lake comes

off a pair of easy victories in which

they first beat Cheney 7-0 last

Tuesday and capped off the week

with another similar whitewash of

Riverside. No game went beyond

two sets in either match.

“Danielle walked away with a

pair of wins at No. 1, so that was

good for her because she’s been

struggling a little bit,” Eliassen

said.

“VanMeter and Tareski played

well together,” Eliassen said.

“It was good for them to have

a couple of matches where they

could not feel a whole lot of pressure

all match and have a chance

to remember how to talk to each

other and how to move around.”

“I don’t think I’ll take apart any

of these double teams,” Eliassen

said. “Jess and Bri and Cassi and

Kristi have been together all season

and they’re just beginning to

jell together; I don’t want to throw

off their groove.”

Eliassen had a special practice

scheduled this past Monday in an

attempt to prep for a return match

and, perhaps, some revenge for

the Indians. Colville beat the

Cards 4-3 at home in their first

meeting.

As usual, Clarkston is dominating

and beating everybody.

“The rest of us are kind of taking

our lumps and giving some lumps

out,” Eliassen said. “Between

Colville, West Valley, Pullman

and ourselves, we’re trying to beat

up on each other all the time.”

The strategy of the coaches

now begins to emerge. “It’s hard

to know which of the No. 1 and

No. 2 singles players from the

other schools will end up in

doubles,” Eliassen explained.

“You’re always watching to see

who (coaches) played in doubles

today.”

Paul Delaney can be reached at

pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.