TENNIS: Kentwood’s Manthou, Spero join forces, win district title; Kent-Meridian’s Mardakov takes third

Kentwood High doubles team Tess Manthou and Eliana Spero found out Friday afternoon how big of a difference a week can truly make.

The Kentwood duo played tennis together sparingly during the regular season, but joined forces a little more than a week ago for a postseason run.

That week of practice proved worthwhile for the standout Conquerors.

After taking second at last week’s South Puget Sound League tournament, Manthou and Spero took the next step on Friday during the West Central District tournament at Sprinker Recreation Center in Tacoma, knocking off Tahoma’s Maddie Turek and Sierra Southworth in the championship match 7-6 (3), 6-1.

Turek and Southworth upended Manthou and Spero just a week earlier, and in relatively easy fashion, 6-1, 6-4.

Friday’s crowing victory, however, was a different story.

“I think this time we ran to the ball a lot more, and played more aggressively like we had nothing to lose,” Manthou said.

Indeed. The week of practice also helped, Spero noted.

“We’ve become a better doubles team and have learned how to play with each other better,” she said.

It also helped that before Manthou and Spero pulled off the title, they received potentially their most difficult challenge to date in a 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (2) victory over Skyview’s Brittany Ellingsen and Anna Romanovsky. That win helped the duo clinch a state berth.

“It was the most insane match I have seen in a long time,” said Kentwood coach Ingrid Bakke. “That match really prepared them for (Friday). Not only did it build their confidence, but it also helped them learn how to play together and click as a team. (The title) was just icing on the cake.”

The big performances helped propel Manthou and Spero into the state tournament as the district’s top seed. The state tournament will be held May 27-28 at the Vancouver Tennis Center. The top eight placers in the boys and girls tournament at Sprinker Recreation Center earned a berth to the state tournament.

Joining Manthou and Spero will be Kentridge freshman Katelyn Overland. After ripping through her first two matches on Thursday to earn a state berth, Overland dropped two in a row and brought home a fourth-place finish. Overland is the lone Charger female to earn a state berth. Kentlake’s Kara Ikeda grabbed a ninth-place finish, and will go to state as an alternate. Southworth and Turek, the only two Bears in the tournament, took second.

Kent-Meridian’s David Mardakov highlighted the boys tournament, grabbing a third-place finish after a narrow 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 win over Bellarmine Prep’s Alex Vogt. Joining Mardakov at state will be Kentwood’s Alex Noyes (sixth) along with Kentridge doubles team Howard Lin and Alex Yi (fifth).

The day, however, belonged to Manthou and Spero. The two had not played frequently together during the regular season because to allow the Conquerors more competitive depth in league matches. Baake noted throughout the season that the two would be joined once postseason began.

Both players will be making their second consecutive trips to state. Last year, Manthou teamed with then-senior Alyssa Nagai to take third at state. Meanwhile, Spero competed with Nikki Skinner to take seventh.

Now that the two have put some experience playing together under their belts, the sky’s the limit.

“I think we’ve been gradually getting better and better each match,” Manthou said. “At state, we should play even better with a week (more) of practice.”