Baker Stands Out at Inland Empire Classic

Colville’s girls tennis team continued a strong stretch with dual wins over Riverside and Kettle Falls, while the Crimson Hawks also gained valuable experience against a large regional field at the 79^th Inland Empire Tennis Tournament.

At the tournament, Colville senior Julia Baker turned in the team’s top performance, placing third in the consolation bracket of the No. 1 girls singles division, which included 39 schools.

Baker opened with a 6-1, 6-0 loss to La Salle, then bounced back with a 6-4, 7-6 win over West Valley of Yakima. She followed with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Mead before falling 6-2, 6-3 to Central Valley. Baker closed the tournament with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Toppenish.

In No. 1 girls doubles, Kylee Dyar and Ava Kelley fell 6-3, 6-0 to Connell, then defeated Post Falls 6-4, 6-4. The duo later battled East Valley of Spokane, winning the first set 6-3 before dropping the second 6-4 and the tiebreaker.

Campbell Thompson and Lilly Hirsch competed in the No. 2 girls doubles bracket. They opened with a 6-2, 6-3 loss to Chewelah, then defeated Mt. Spokane before falling 6-4, 6-4 to Richland.

In No. 3 girls doubles, Jasmine Wolfe and Evie McDaniel opened with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Othello before falling 6-0, 6-0 to Central Valley.

On the boys side, James Stewart competed in the No. 2 singles bracket, falling 6-0, 6-0 to Liberty Bell. Brendan Lambert and Jack Shaw played in the No. 1 boys doubles bracket, falling 6-0, 6-1 to Ridgeline and 6-3, 6-2 to Shadle Park.

Colville also earned a pair of girls dual victories during the week. The Crimson Hawks girls defeated Riverside 4-1 on April 20, while the boys fell 5-0.

Baker won at No. 1 singles against Riverside, 6-2, 6-0. Colville swept the girls doubles matches, with the teams of Dyar and Kelley, Thompson and Hirsch, and McDaniel and Wolfe each winning 6-0, 6-1. Hirsch also served an ace in her No. 2 doubles match.

For the boys, Shaw and Lambert took three games from Riverside’s No. 1 doubles pair.

Colville’s girls followed with another 4-1 win over Kettle Falls on April 23, while the boys finished 1-2. Shaw picked up a boys singles win, defeating Kettle Falls’ No. 1 singles player 7-5, 7-6, taking the tiebreaker 9-7.

Baker won a tight No. 1 girls singles match over Kettle Falls, rallying for a 4-6, 6-1, 10-8 victory. Dyar and Kelley won at No. 1 doubles, 6-3, 6-2, while Thompson and Hirsch defeated Kettle Falls’ No. 2 doubles team 6-0, 6-1. Thompson had three aces in the match, and Hirsch added one.

McDaniel and Wolfe completed the girls doubles sweep with an 8-2 win over Kettle Falls’ No. 3 doubles team.