BELLINGHAM — Burlington-Edison High School boys’ tennis player Matt Benson finished second in singles Monday at the Northwest 2A District Tournament.
With a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over Sehome’s Oskar O’Neil, the senior qualified for the Class 2A State Tournament in the spring.
“This was an incredible back-and-forth battle that was worthy of a winner-to-state matchup,” Burlington-Edison coach Ryan Wallace said. “Both players took a little time to settle in, but it quickly became a battle of who could capture the momentum at just the right time.”
Benson got a service break late in the first set to propel him to the set win, then in the second set, the story was reversed where O’Neil was able to make a late comeback from being down 5-4 to win the set.
The third set saw both players feeling the weight of the match with each shot.
“Matt really kept the pressure on in his service game, winning one game on four consecutive serves,” Wallace said. “O’Neil countered and kept the match close until Matt was able to get a late service break and served out for the win.”
The hard-earned victory was sweet for Benson and impressed his coach.
“I am incredibly proud of Matt and what he was able to accomplish,” Wallace said. “He was one win away from state last year (in doubles) and that really fueled his fire in the offseason.
“The plan was always to move him back into singles this season, knowing that he could have another chance at earning a trip to the state tournament.”
Anacortes doubles players Finn Mcdonough and Sam Johnson saw their season come to an end following a 6-1, 6-4 loss to Braylen Savage and Luke Swanson of Squalicum in the tournament’s second-place match.
Volleyball
Lakewood Cougars 3,
Burlington-Edison Tigers 2
BURLINGTON — The Tigers fell to the Cougars in the Northwest Conference match.
Burlington-Edison is 3-9 in conference and 3-11 overall.