Kentwood’s Max Manthou continued his march to a fourth-straight Class 4A state tennis title last week at Sprinker Recreation Center in Spanaway, securing his fourth district crown in No. 1 singles by easily dispatching Gig Harbor’s Max Jigantie, 6-2-6-1.
The Kentridge boys followed suit, winning the team title with 22 points followed by second-place Kentwood (18) and Bellarmine Prep (16). The Chargers will send a district-tournament high five players to the state tournament, which is being held at the Tri-City Court Club in Kennewick on Friday and Saturday (May 28-29).
The success spilled over to the girls’ side, where Tess Manthou and Alyssa Nagai upended Tahoma’s Sierra Southworth and Maria Bahlenhorst for the doubles title en route to leading Kentwood to a tie for the team title with Auburn. The Conquerors tied the Trojans with 16 points while Jefferson wasn’t far behind at 15 points.
The talk of the day, however, belonged to the Manthous. Max, a senior, was named the South Puget Sound League North boys Player of the Year while sister Tess, a sophomore, was named the girls Player of the Year.
On Saturday, Manthou will take aim at a fourth straight state title.
“This pretty exciting stuff,” Manthou said. “I will have some teammates there, which I have not had (in the previous three trips to state), and my sister will be there.”
Indeed. Matter of fact, the state tennis tournament will have a distinctively Kent feel for both genders. Kentwood will be sending Max and Tess Manthou along with Nagai, Nikki Skinner (doubles), Eliana Spero (doubles), Tucker Siegert (doubles) and Alex Noyes (doubles). Meanwhile, Kentridge advanced Matt Overland (singles), Vineeth Omkaram (doubles), Garrett Ballou (doubles), Sahil Diwan (doubles) and Vincent Lin (doubles).
Max Manthou knocked off Overland in last year’s No. 1 singles championship match. If the two are going to meet again this weekend, it can only be in the semifinals.
“If we both play well, we should meet in the semis,” Manthou said. “As a friend of mine, I hope he does play well.”
While Manthou is pegged as the favorite to capture another individual title, the Kentridge boys are among the frontrunners to take the team title. The Chargers collected 11 points last spring to take second at the state tournament. With essentially the same crew back this weekend, including two-time medalist Overland, the possibility of winning it all is distinct for the Chargers.
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