Boys tennis: Sequim’s Zingaro advances to district in singles

Head coach happy with results of “learning” season

By Conor Dowley • October 30, 2019 1:30 am
Sequim’s Nico Zingaro advanced to the finals of the Olympic League Tennis Championship last week before falling to Bremerton’s Garrett Lawson 6-3, 6-3. Photo by Mark Krulish/Kitsap News Group
Sequim’s Nico Zingaro advanced to the finals of the Olympic League Tennis Championship last week before falling to Bremerton’s Garrett Lawson 6-3, 6-3. Photo by Mark Krulish/Kitsap News Group

Nico Zingaro will be the Sequim Wolves’ lone boys tennis representative in the 2A West Central District III district tournament after reaching the the Olympic League singles tournament finals before suffering just his second loss of the season.

The Italian exchange student won three matches in the tournament, including beating Port Angeles freshman Reef Gelder in the semifinal.

Bremerton’s Garrett Lawson had already handed Zingaro his only defeat of the season on Sept. 19, and despite Zingaro getting the better of him on Oct. 10, Lawson was able to win 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets to win his second straight Olympic League championship.

“Nico has had a tremendous season,” Wolves’ head coach Mark Textor said after the tournament. “He was a huge help to the team, and his performances were top-notch.”

Sophomore Connor Bear lost his two matches, including a close match against Port Angeles’ Caleb Flodstrom that Textor called “very good but very long,” adding that the length and fatigue of that match cost him his chance to advance in the losers’ bracket.

Junior Dallin Despain lost his first round matchup to Olympic’s Zachary Wyant, then beat Kingston’s Garrett McDaniel before falling to North Kitsap’s Brandon Cole.

Textor praised Despain, noting that he had made major strides over the course of the season, especially after moving to singles competition late in the year.

In doubles play, only Sequim’s Dustan Koch and Henry Hughes managed to notch a win in the tournament before North Kitsap’s Drake Jones and Josh Smith edged them in the quarterfinals. Sam Frymyer and Brenton Barnes lost to the Bremerton duo of Nolan Myers and Coby De Angelo, who also went to the semifinals before being defeated.

With the season over for all but one of his players, Textor reflected on a campaign that in the preseason he had called a learning year.

“I think we had a great season,” he said. “I thought we would get (a few) wins, but we finished 8-6 and probably would have had two more wins (against Olympic and Chimacum) if not for rain-outs.

“This was a really enjoyable group to work with. They worked hard to improve, and they did it.”