Walla Walla High boys tennis team wins District 8 title, heads to State

KENNEWICK — Walla Walla High's boys tennis team won the Class 3A District 8 title after the tournament at Kennewick High on Saturday, May 20.

The Blue Devils' Ken Higgins placed second overall in singles play, the Wa-Hi's doubles team of Micah Case and Robert Horton also placed second.

Both Higgins and the doubles team takes second seeds out of District 8 into the State tournament as the Blue Devils team goes to the Vancouver Tennis Center in Vancouver, Wash., on Friday and Saturday.

"After last weekend’s performance at the MCC championships, taking the 3A title, we knew it was going to take a special effort to repeat as champions at regionals," Blue Devils coach Bryan Eggart said. "Fortunately, this is exactly the effort that we got.

"Ken’s play throughout the tournament was absolutely outstanding," he said of Higgins' play. "He controlled a vast majority of points within his matches. He dictated the pace of play and forced others to play his style of tennis. Absolutely great effort from one of the best juniors we’ve ever had come through our program.

"Micah and Robert were very aggressive in their final match at the net," Eggart said of the doubles team. "They played to win the match from the outset, their mindset was very special! They beat a returning State doubles team, to take the final spot to state from our region. I couldn’t be more proud of the effort that I saw in the Backdraw final. They played their best tennis of the year in the biggest match.

"Placing fourth in doubles and securing the District 8 regional title for our team was the pair of Rudy Entrikin and Jakob Clearman," he said. "This was a fantastic team win. I couldn’t be more excited for our guys to get the opportunity to go to Vancouver to play in the State tournament. This has been an extremely special group all year. We have had amazing upperclassman leadership."