Sprague wins fourth consecutive district championship
By Bill Poehler • Statesman Journal
May 10, 2008
Shannon Young is far from the player she was when she won her first district championship as a freshman.
The Sprague High School senior, though, produced the same result Friday.
Young won the singles championship at the Central Valley Conference district tournament, her third title, and led Sprague to its fourth consecutive district team title at Salem Tennis & Swim Club.
"It feels pretty good, of course," Young said. "It would have been nice to have four. Sophomore year, couldn't make it happen.
"Like I said earlier, it's cool to win, but I'm at state and I'm excited for college tennis now."
Sprague won the team race with 81 points, eight better than runner-up West Salem, which produced the championship doubles team of Britta Berg-Johansen and Ashley Spencer.
The Olympians had two individual players place Friday — senior Shannon Palmer was third in singles — and the doubles team of Rachel Earle and Becca Schaefer placed fourth.
Sprague had the district singles champion in each of the past four seasons.
"Generally, our domination has come from kids that were very committed to tennis like Shannon Young, Shannon Palmer; before that, it was Mikayla Rogers and just kids that were absolutely devoted to becoming the best they can be," Sprague coach Prescott Mann said.
"I've been fortunate over the last four years to have some girls that love the game and are willing to put the time into it that it takes to become successful."
Young is the perfect example.
The 5-foot-11 hard-serving player won all but six games she played in the two-day tournament.
After beating Stephanie Spencer 6-1, 6-1 in Friday's quarterfinal round, Young came up against West Salem freshman Grace Lin, who knocked off Sprague's Shannon Palmer 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals.
Young and Lin faced off a little more than a week before when Sprague and West Salem competed in a dual meet.
Friday's end result was the same, with Young winning 6-1, 6-2.
"It let me know what I needed to do," Young said of her previous match against Lin. "I was able to figure out why she was winning games when we played last week. And that way when she started winning games, I knew what I was doing wrong, and I knew what to do to correct it today.
"Basically, she would start coming in, and I would float it to her every time, that's what I did last week. Today, I just hit it either right at her or tried to hit a down-the-line passing shot or cross-court roller. I didn't try to lob her, which doesn't work."
Lin was one of the tournament's surprises.
"I'm really happy with my result," Lin said. "I was hoping to do a little better in the finals, but to get to the finals is pretty good."
Also in singles play, Palmer defeated Spencer 6-1, 6-0 to place third, and West Salem's Kate Miller defeated South Salem's Camilla Abbruzzino 6-4, 6-2 in the consolation final.
In doubles, Berg-Johansen and Spencer won the first district championship in tennis for West Salem.
For Berg-Johansen, it was her second shot at a doubles championship.
Last year as a junior, then paired with Mimi Johnson, she lost in the finals to the Sprague pair of Palmer and Brenna Bell.
"I just kind of saw a glimpse of how it could be, and if I did well at state last year, I would have been so happy. So I'm glad I get another chance this year," Berg-Johansen said.
"And Ashley is an amazing partner."
Ashley Spencer, the freshman sister of Stephanie Spencer, added a nice compliment to Berg-Johansen, and they paired up to defeat the Redmond duo of Chelsea Gibbs and Allison Coughlin 6-3, 6-4 in the finals.
"It's cool because she's a senior and she's leaving so we get to go to state together," Ashley Spencer said. "As a freshman, it's cool. And then going with my sister is also cool."
After winning the first set with relative ease, Gibbs and Coughlin went up 3-1 in the second before Berg-Johansen and Spencer came back with five straight points.
"I think me and Ashley do well when we get down because then, we suddenly get a second wind and give it all we have," Berg-Johansen said.
The South Salem pairing of Sarah Miller and Kate Thurber defeated Earle and Schaefer 6-0, 6-4 to place third in doubles.
The McNary pair of Lauren Jones and Emilie Boatner defeated the South Salem pair of Christina Austin and Katie McCann.
The players who placed first through fourth qualified for the Class 6A state tournament May 15-17 at Portland Tennis Center and Tualatin Hills Tennis Center.
bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6701