In 1971, the WIAA held the first girls tennis state tournament at Highline Community College in Des Moines. But bad weather forced the tournament inside, not to an indoor tennis courts, but to the basketball court inside the college’s gym.
Still Jane Berhow and Louanne Luehrs captured the first doubles title, helping Bay share the team title.
This is The Columbian’s report from 1971
The Hudson’s Bay Eagles shared the first state tennis title for girls after their doubles team of Jane Berhow and Louanne Luehrs swept through the field for the doubles title.
The Eagles shared the title in the tourney, held on the weekend at Highline Community College, with Puyallup, which had Mary Knesal take the singles title and help Puyallup to co-honors as a team.
The doubles and singles titles each earned eight points for co-champion schools, and Barbara Beck of Hudson’s Bay survived into the second round of singles play to pick up the other key point that gave Hudson’s Bay the nine needed to tie. Puyallup had a doubles team gain the second round of play, and that accounted for their other point.
Eastmont finished third with seven points and Susan Fager was the runner-up in the singles play, Toppenish had six as their doubles team was edged by the Eagle pair in the tourney finals.
Sweeping through the doubles play without a loss, the misses Berhow and Luehrs had their hands full in downing the Toppenish entry of Gloria Harvey and Amy Treneer. Both sets went extra games, and the Eagles took a marathon opener 11-9 and then had to go an extra game to win 7-5 in the title clincher.
The Highline meet, first for tennis girls, saw the Bay team making a successful conversion to indoor play Saturday, when the weather forced the tournament play inside at the Highline gymnasium. It was the first indoor competition for the Eagle girls, who adapted well in the emergency.
The matches were a series of upsets, for the tourney officials had little basis for preparing seeding among the league champs and school contenders.
Some schools, such as Hudson’s Bay, play their tennis leagues in the fall term of the school year, other play in the spring, and some hold competitions in both seasons.
Only other Clark County entrant in the tourney was Sue LaLonde of Fort Vancouver, who survived into the second round of singles before being eliminated and thus scoring for the Trappers in the first state meet.
Written by Al Crombie, The Columbian, May 31, 1971
