Back-to-back champions was the theme of Saturday at the 3A district boys tennis tournament held at Club Green Meadows.
Prairie sophomore Elijah Nelson repeated as singles champion, while Mountain View’s Vincent Hsu and James Bertheau won again in doubles.
Nelson beat Lu Abuizzah of Mountain View 6-1, 6-4 in a rematch of last year’s district final.
Nelson played a solid match throughout, and after getting the match-clinching point, raised his arms in the air to celebrate.
“The first set, I played really well,” Nelson said. “I thought I played great the whole tournament.”
Last year, Nelson qualified for state after placing second at the bi-district tournament. He’ll get another shot to reach state next weekend.
“Just need to keep the footwork up and stay fit,” he said about the bi-district event in Tacoma.
Hsu, a junior, and Bertheau, a sophomore, returned to the winner’s circle again with a 6-2, 6-0 win the final over Prairie’s Ethan Hefflin and Cole Harmon.
With one title defense in their pocket, Hsu and Bertheau will try to win another bi-district title next week.
“We just need to execute everything we have worked on this year going into the postseason,” Hsu said.
Mountain View coach Nick Frost said what makes Hsu and Bertheau a great team is their camaraderie.
“You can’t exploit them (on the court),” Frost said. “They don’t lose to teams they aren’t suppose to lose to.”
Mountain View freshman Kevin Kim placed third at district to earn the final singles spot to bi-district.
His 7-5, 6-3 win over Fort Vancouver’s Sam Crawford also secured the district team title for Mountain View to go with the Thunder’s 3A Greater St. Helens League title.
The top five placers at bi-district will earn berths to state, which is in May.
