Making a Racket: Visit to Evergreen
Evergreen No. 1 singles player Becca Mattson. (Jeff Klein/The Columbian)
This week’s court visit took me to Evergreen to see the Plainsmen and Heritage in a 4A GSHL match. We don’t hear much about either squad, so I went for a look. My goal is to see as many players and teams as possible this season.
What I learned is that soccer players are tough outs. They run down everything.
Evergreen No. 1 Becca Mattson, an all-league first team midfielder for the Plainsmen soccer team in the fall, was on her tennis game Tuesday in defeating Heritage No. 1 Vickie Shcherbina 6-2, 6-2.
Evergreen’s Becca Mattson runs down a shot from Heritage’s Vickie Shcherbina during Tuesday’s match at Evergreen. Mattson won 6-2, 6-2. (Jeff Klein/The Columbian)
Heritage No. 1 singles player Vickie Shcherbina. (Jeff Klein/The Columbian)
For Mattson, a senior, it was her third win a row after recent wins against Battle Ground and Mountain View.
She also said she has been working on her strokes a lot, which also explains getting to as many tennis balls as she did and making solid returns.
Being a singles player in the 4A GSHL means you face a lot of tough competition, and Mattson knows that, now in her third tennis season.
“It’s a very competitive league,” she said. “Lots of players have been playing for a long time. But it makes you a better player.”
As she put it, you just try to get that first game and go from there.
“I feel like I’m a better player,” Mattson said about how she feels after taking on the GSHL’s top talent.
Mattson said she likes playing for Evergreen because everyone “has a good attitude, even if we don’t win.”
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Some recent highlights / comebacks to note:
- SHOUTOUT to the Skyview girls for winning the Thomas Jefferson Tournament over the weekend. The Storm only won every flight there was to score a perfect 20 points in the competition. Sammi Hampton, Sarah Morgan won the singles flights; Macey Ballew/Katherine Metz, Addision Samander/Karly Metz, and Vanessa Vincent/Jamie McMullen in doubles.
- If you didn’t see the “Stars of the Day” in Tuesday’s prep roundup from the Monday matches, Avery Honaker of Hudson’s Bay came back from a set down for a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) win the No. 2 singles match over Columbia River in a match that lasted 3 hours, 45 minutes.
- Prairie’s Holly Roberts had a three-set comeback win against Fort Vancouver at No. 2 singles, posting a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory Monday.
- The Mountain View vs. Battle Ground match Monday featured two comeback wins. Mountain View’s Emillia Kua won 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 singles, and Battle Ground’s No. 3 doubles team of Brooke Van Sickle and Ruby Hastings won 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6).
- In a No. 1 doubles match, Ridgefield’s Sarah Kaufman and Sophie Bird came back to post a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win against Hudson’s Bay on Tuesday. Ridgefield remained unbeaten in the 2A GSHL at 4-0, 7-0 overall.
- Two very competitive matches were played at No. 1 singles on Tuesday. Camas’ Jen Lewis defeated Union’s Sydney Wallace 7-6 (4), 7-5; and Fort Vancouver’s Angelina Polina defeated Columbia River’s Lauren Skelly 7-5, 7-5.
- Camas’ 4-2 win over Union on Tuesday put both teams at 5-2 and two games behind undefeated Skyview (7-0) in the 4A GSHL standings. All things being equal, Union and Camas will break their tie at Union on May 8, which is the scheduled end of the regular season.
- Prairie is running away with the four-team 3A GSHL at 5-1 and 7-1 overall.
