Lalone rallies to place fourth in state tennis
By JOHN GALBREATH Sports Editor
PHOTO BY JOHN GALBREATH Stanwood's Megan LaLone finished fourth in the 4A girls' tennis tournament in Kennewick last week. Playing in the state 4A girls' tennis championships, Megan LaLone recovered quickly from a first-round loss to Meghan Cassens of Decatur to win four straight consolation matches and place fourth overall as a Stanwood High freshman.
LaLone suffered a 6-1, 6-0 defeat at the hands of Cassens, the eventual state champion, then beat Brittany Ellingsen of Skyview 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-2, and Mountain View's Chaeran Kim, who was forced to retire following an injury.
The next day, Saturday, LaLone eliminated Rai Cockreham of South Kitsap with sets of 6-2, 1-6, 6-2, before conquering Central Kitsap's Corine Wurden 7-5, 6-3 in the fourth-place match.
"Both players (referring to both Lalone and Stanwood's Kyle Koetje, who took fifth among 4A boys) were amazing to watch. The level of play was so high," said coach Trudy Abrams. "Kyle and Megan have worked hard and put in a lot of practice hours to accomplish their goals. They didn't just want to get to state, they wanted to place at state, and they did!"
"I'm not sure, but this may be the highest any boy and girl singles players have placed at state from Stanwood," she added.
