A challenging start to a season? No doubt. Sequim’s boys tennis players had just five days from their first practice to their first match, while their lineup got a massive overhaul thanks to a number of factors, not the least of which put the traditional fall sport in with other “winter” sports in play this spring.
“It’s a challenge,” Sequim coach Mark Textor said with a grin last week, as his team prepped for their second match of the young season.
The Wolves look to freshman Garrett Little as their top singles player in 2021, with junior Connor Bear a solid second singles player. Textor said returners Henry Hughes and Dustan Koch provide a solid top doubles team.
“After that, we have a lot on inexperience,” Textor said.
The Wolves have a number of new athletes who normally play a different sport in the fall but are taking advantage of the season shift to try tennis. The influx helps the program that saw a number of players from last year’s squad either graduate or take up another sport.
That inexperience means Textor and assistant Rick Grant are working with players of varying grade levels who have little to no tennis background, seeking to translate their athletic skills form one sport to another.
“The season’s been really fun so far; everyone’s been a blank chalkboard,” Textor said.
What helps, the Sequim coach noted, is that “they have really good attitudes and they’re good kids.”
Said Textor, “This year, our goal is just improvement. If we can keep improving, we’ve got a chance to win a few.”
SHS boys tennis 2021 season preview
Head coach: Mark Textor (15th season)
2019 record: 9-6 in 2A Olympic League (fifth); one singles entry in West Central District tourney
Key returners: Dustan Koch (sr.), Henry Hughes (jr.), Zachary McCracken (jr.), Jackson Van DeWege (jr.), Connor Bear (jr.)
Key newcomers: Garrett Little (fr.), William Hughes (fr.), Kaleb Needoba (sr.), Ryan Porter (sr.), Richard Meier (jr.), Kaden Jones (NA)
2020-2021 Sequim boys tennis schedule
Date Opponent Time/score
May 5 Sequim 4, at Klahowya 3
May 10 vs. North Mason
May 12 at Olympic
May 13 vs. Central Kitsap
May 15 at Bainbridge
May 19 at East Jefferson
May 22 at Kingston
May 24 vs. North Kitsap
May 26 vs. Bremerton
May 27 vs. Port Angeles
May 31 Olympic League tournament TBD
Wolves win road, home openers
A bit of overall inexperience didn’t keep Sequim’s boys tennis team from starting the season off on a winning note, edging class 1A Klahowya 4-3 in Silverdale on May 5, on the way to a 4-1 start.
Freshman Garret Little got a win in his first varsity start in No. 1 singles, topping Eagle Evan Cole 6-2,6-0.
Sequim also picked up three doubles wins, led by No. 1 doubles team Henry Hughes and Dustan Koch, who topped Klahowya’s Eli Kraft and Ben Walters 6-2, 6-1. In No. 2 doubles play, Sequim’s Zach McCracken and Jack Van DeWege beat Zach Schweitzer and Robbie Slater 6-4, 6-1. The Wolves also earned a forfeit victory in No. 3 doubles.
Sequim swept North Mason 7-0 on May 10, with Little, Connor Bear and Kaden Jones each winning their matches in straight sets. Also winning in straight sets were Hughes and Koch in No. 1 doubles play, and McCracken and Van DeWege in No. 2 doubles. Sequim also won two doubles matches by forfeit.
The Wolves added a win at Olympic on May 12 in another match against a short-handed team, sweeping the Trojans 7-0 with four match wins and three forfeit victories. Little topped Christopher Posis 6-0, 6-0, while Bear swept Xavier Skillings 6-1, 6-0. Hughes and Kock topped Olympic’s No. 1 doubles team of Warner Alexander and Jonathan Mourich 6-1 and 6-1, and McCracken and Van DeWege won again, beating Olympic’s Freddy Enamorado and Theo Martin without losing a point.
Sequim added a win against Central Kitsap, a class 3A school, topping the Cougars 5-2 at home on May 13. Little and Bear won in straight sets at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, with Little earning a hard-fought, 7-5, 7-5 win over CK’s Kai Junior. Hughes and Koch added a win in No. 1 doubles, beating Caleb Beil and Landon Lee 6-4, 6-4. McCracken and Van DeWege won in no. 2 doubles play, and Sequim’s Kaleb Needoba and Koda Robinson won in the No. 4 doubles match.
The class 3A Bainbridge Spartans ended the Wolves’ undefeated streak, beating the wolves 5-2 on May 15 at Bainbridge. Little had Sequim’s lone singles win — a 6-3, 6-4 win over Brogan Rice — while Hughes and Koch won in straight sets (6-4, 6-4) over Spartans Declan McLennan and Eric Perkins for the Wolves’ only doubles victory.
Sequim is at East Jefferson on May 19 and Kingston on May 22 before hosting North Kitsap on May 24. Sequim hosts Bremerton on May 26 and Port Angeles a day later before finishing the abridged season with a league tourney on May 31.
Connor Bear, a junior, pictured here taking on a North Mason player on May 10, looks to bolster a Sequim High boys tennis program that’s loaded with athletic skills but short on tennis experience. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell
Connor Bear, a junior, pictured here taking on a North Mason player on May 10, looks to bolster a Sequim High boys tennis program that’s loaded with athletic skills but short on tennis experience. Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell
