Max Manthou takes record fourth title / Prep tennis

KENNEWICK — Good news for the rest of the state's boys tennis players: Max Manthou's prep career is over.

The Kentwood senior capped an unbeaten high-school career with his fourth consecutive Class 4A singles championship, beating Kent Andreasen of Skyview (Vancouver) 6-2, 6-3 Saturday at the Tri-City Court Club.

With Kentwood's first-place team trophy, plus the basketball championship Manthou helped the Conquerors win in March, his latest tennis singles crown gave him six career state titles.

Next stop for Manthou: the University of Washington.

"I've never had anyone at state other than singles players in the six years I've been at Kentwood," said coach Ingrid Bakke. "This year has been extremely special. It's sad to see Max go, but he will just be at UW so we can all go and see him play."

Manthou and Andreasen each held serve through the first four games, then Manthou took a 3-2 lead before breaking Andreasen to go up 4-2. Manthou gave up just one point in taking a 5-2 lead, then broke Andreasen once again to take the first set.

The hard-hitting affair followed suit in the second set as Manthou led 2-1 with Andreasen holding serve. Manthou broke Andreasen to go up 3-1. Andreasen, who lost to Manthou in the quarterfinals last year, pulled within 5-3 before Manthou served for the win.

"He was a very solid player," Manthou said of Andreasen, a sophomore. "As the stakes get higher and the players get better, my game gets better. I played well to win — he didn't give me anything."

In the semifinals, Manthou beat SPSL rival Matt Overland of Kentridge, 6-1, 6-3. Manthou defeated Overland in straight sets in last year's championship match, and beat him in the 2008 semifinals en route to his second state title.

Overland has taken one set against the Kentwood player over the years, but has never beaten him.

In 4A girls singles, Decatur junior Meghan Cassens repeated as champ, beating Stanwood's Megan LaLone, 6-1, 6-3.

"I almost didn't make it out of the semis," Cassens said of her 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 semifinal win over Angela Chen of Newport. "I was down 0-3 in the third set. This feels really good. I worked so hard for this."

Cassens, state runner-up as a freshman, will try for a third title next year, but it would be at Class 3A as Decatur is moving down a classification.

Kentwood and Wenatchee tied for the boys title. Newport won the girls team crown.

Carter, Islanders

wear 3A crowns

VANCOUVER — Bainbridge's Sasha Carter knocked off defending champ Natalie Allen of Holy Names 6-4, 6-2 at the Vancouver Tennis Center for the Class 3A girls singles championship.

Mercer Island's girls won their state-record 34th team title, and Seattle Prep's boys also repeated.

It was a good day for Metro League players. Reid deLaubenfels of Nathan Hale took the boys singles crown and Seattle Prep's Andrew LaCava and Jason Bediones won their second straight doubles title, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 over Max Franklin and Andrew Smith of Mercer Island.

Anissa Bryant-Swift and Malia Lum of Sammamish repeated as doubles champs, beating Chelsea Bailey and Julia Schubach of Mercer Island 6-2, 7-6 (8) in the final.

Notes

• Newport's Steven Miyauchi and Zach Chen won the first set before losing for the second consecutive year in the 4A boys doubles title match to Wenatchee's Clint Vidano and Jack Rechtin, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

• In 4A girls doubles, Kamiakin's Demie Warner and Ali Welch failed to win their third straight title, forfeiting the final 6-3, 5-2 (retired) to Inglemoor's Maria Gonzalez Cuervo and Jasmine Singh after Welch badly injured her knee.

• In 2A boys singles at Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle, Will Topp of Sehome dethroned last year's champ, South Whidbey's Riley Newman, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

• In the 1A/2B/1B tournament at the Yakima Tennis Club, Nathan Anderson of Puyallup's Cascade Christian won the boys singles title, beating Trym Torvund of Overlake 6-1, 6-4 in the final.

• Overlake's Lana Robins won the 1A/2B/1B girls singles championship, sweeping Brewster's Brittany Webster 6-0, 6-0, helping the Owls capture the team title. Overlake's boys were state runners-up.

Annie Fowler of the Tri-City Herald contributed to this report.