A hard-fought effort from the Oak Harbor girls tennis team left the Wildcats just short of an upset on their home courts Friday afternoon.

Cascade used its depth in doubles to pull away and narrowly defeat Oak Harbor 4-3 in its first meet of the season.

“Cascade is going to be one of the top three teams in the league,” OHHS head coach Horace Mells said.

Despite the team loss, singles play proved strong for the Wildcats, who took three out of four matches.

Number one player Kara Merriman was dominant in her victory over the Bruins’ Kayla Anderson, winning in two sets, 6-1, 6-4.

“She played real well, she didn’t miss a lot of shots, she was real consistent,” Mells said.

Mells was most pleased that Merriman, who has struggled with injuries in past seasons, felt healthy after her win.

“If she stays healthy she will have a chance to be one of the top singles players in the league,” he said.

OHHS juniors Amy Berg and Pristine Santos showed some grit at the number three and four spots respectively.

After losing her first set 3-6, Berg battled back to shut out Stacy Huynh 6-0 in set number two and win a close 7-5 third set.

“I told her to just keep it positive and she did,” Mells said. “Amy has come a long ways, she finished number three ahead of a lot of girls that finished higher than her last year — she’s picked her game up a lot.”

Santos lost her first set 4-6 and fought back for 7-5, 6-1 victories over Angie Leon.

“She normally starts slow in singles, but she generally picks it up and she was able to do that,” Mells said.

Although they were strong at singles, the Wildcats struggled in doubles play. Oak Harbor’s number one team of Kristi Goebel and Abigail Pruss fell in two sets, 6-0, 6-2.

The number two team of Erin Jewell and Christine Connelly, along with the number three team of Maile McCumber and Andrea Mora also lost their matches in two sets.

“We’ve got to do a lot of work at doubles,” Mells said. “They’re on track, they’re going in the right direction.”

Oak Harbor was scheduled to face Snohomish on the road yesterday, March 29 and is slated to take on Monroe at 3:45 p.m., tomorrow, March 31. The possibility of heavy rain, however, could result in cancellations and rescheduled meets.

Singles — Merriman (OH) def. Anderson, 6-1, 6-4; Sun (C) def. Gailo 6-2, 6-0; Berg (OH) def. Huynh 3-6, 6-0, 7-5; Santos (OH) def. Leon 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. Doubles — LeBar-Woods (C) def. Goebel-Pruss, 6-0, 6-2; Tran-Naylor (C) def. Jewell-Connelly, 6-0, 6-2; Evertt-Dawson (C) def. McCumber-Mora, 6-4, 6-0.