Wildcats eliminated at district / Tennis

By Jim Waller • October 31, 2019 1:30 am

It was two and through for the Oak Harbor High School tennis players at the district tournament Tuesday, Oct. 29, at Snohomish.

The Wildcats’ doubles team of Micah Franklin and Nick Krantz, who won the Wesco North tournament after entering as the fifth seed, struggled at district.

“They had an off day at the wrong time,” coach Tino Gutierrez said.

Franklin and Krantz fell 6-4, 6-3 to Shorewood’s Derick Han and Nico Christianson in the first round, and then lost 6-2, 6-2 to Russell Anderson and Zach Foreman from Edmonds-Woodway.

Ezra Franklin, the fourth seed out of the Wesco North singles tournament, lost to Lynnwood’s Nicolas Desgrippes 6-0, 6-1 and Shorewood’s Steven Lin 6-4, 6-4.

“Ezra was overmatched against the Lynnwood kid but played his heart out,” Gutierrez said. “He had his chances against Steven Lin (but) just couldn’t get that extra break. He had an outstanding singles season.”

In regard to the 2019 season, Gutierrez said, “Overall, I think we played well as a team, but for some reason just couldn’t maintained a winning streak. (I’m) looking forward to next season with so many young players coming back.”