THE SPOKESMAN • TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2022 A5
Sports & Recreation
Redmond nabs IMC
team tennis titles
BY BRIAN RATHBONE
For The Spokesman
REDMOND — When Red-
mond’s Yoshi Saito let out
one final and emphatic “let’s
go!” after scoring the deciding
point in the third set of the In-
termountain Conference boys
singles championship match,
it was finally the end to what
had been a grueling day of
tennis.
The weather caused an un-
usual day for the IMC district
meet Thursday afternoon in
Redmond.
Nearly the entire tourna-
ment — boys and girls — had
been played at Sam Johnson
Park, but then the rain came
just prior to the championship
matches, moving them to the
indoor courts at nearby Eagle
Crest Resort.
On top of that, Saito’s
championship match against
Hood River Valley’s Eric Lan-
glouis went three sets, as Saito
ground out a 6-4 win in the
decisive set to complete the
comeback and claim the con-
ference crown.
Saito, a senior, helped lead
the Panthers to the boys IMC
team title, and the Redmond
girls won the IMC team
championship as well.
“We waited for a couple
hours to see if the rain would
stop, then we had to move,”
Saito said. “That is more ten-
nis than either of us are used
to. We also played in semifinal
matches earlier today. So we
were both digging deep.”
The third matchup of the
season between Saito and Lan-
glouis went differently than
the first two. In the earlier
matches, both played outside,
Saito won fairly easily. But
on the indoor courts at Eagle
Crest, Langlouis looked like
a different player, taking the
first set 6-1.
“After the first set, Yoshi
told me, ‘He is not missing, he
is playing bonkers.’ I’m proud
of Yoshi, for thinking through
the game, because (Langlouis)
had answers,” said Redmond
coach and Yoshi’s father Na-
than Saito.
“Today, in that first set, he
was a machine.”
The tables turned in the
second set as Saito was able
to force a third set with a 6-2
victory.
“I had him 5-2 and he
wouldn’t go away,” Yoshi Saito.
“I’m glad I was able to finish it.
Today he got to a lot of tough
balls and made great shots out
of them. He played really well
today.”
The boys doubles cham-
pionship was Panthers vs.
Panthers, as No. 3 seed Tan-
ner Jones and Nico Afti took
down No. 1 Garrett Osborne
and Easton Croft, 6-1, 6-0.
Those four Redmond doubles
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
Redmond’s Yoshi Saito returns a shot from Hood River Valley’s Eric Langlouis during the Intermountain
Conference boys singles championship match at Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond on Thursday.
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
Redmond’s Naya Lewis returns a shot from Pendleton’s Olivia Corbett
during the Intermountain Conference girls singles championship
match at Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond on Thursday.
players, and Saito in singles,
will represent Redmond at
the Class 5A state tournament
May 20-21 at the Tualatin
Hills Tennis Center in Bea-
verton.
“It is a testament to how
athletic these guys are,” Na-
than Saito said. “All these guys
are recreational tennis play-
ers. There is a combination
of toughness, athleticism and
natural coordination.”
Ridgeview singles play-
ers Austin Allen and Walter
Gates, who both finished in
the top four, also qualified for
state, as well as the Ravens’
doubles team of Soren Stan-
cliff and Riley Herrin, who
finished fourth.
In the IMC girls tourna-
ment, Ridgeview’s top-seeded
doubles team of Rachel Les-
ter and Sydney Cassaro won
the championship over Red-
mond’s Dagne Harris and
Yudith Gradilla Friday af-
ternoon. Both those doubles
teams qualified for the 5A
state tournament.
On Thursday, Redmond ju-
nior Naya Lewis was in the last
place she thought she would
be — playing for the IMC girls
singles title, even though she
was the fourth seed.
“This is my second year of
tennis, and I played doubles
for half the year so I don’t have
a lot of singles experience,”
Lewis said. “I did not expect to
make it this far.”
Lewis would ultimately fall
in the championship match
to Pendleton’s third-seeded
Olivia Corbett in straight sets
(6-1, 6-0).
Lewis, a key piece in help-
ing the Redmond girls cap-
ture the conference team title,
pulled an upset in the semi-
finals, defeating top-seeded
Meredith Cooper of Crook
County in three sets (5-7, 7-5,
10-6).
“I hadn’t beaten her yet, so
it was a bit of an upset,” Lewis
said. “I had to stay consistent
and use all my might that I
had because she was mov-
ing me around, up and back.
That is the match I am most
proud of. It was a mental hur-
dle.”
Cooper qualified for the
Class 5A state tournament, as
did Redmond’s Kloe Schermer,
both with top-four finishes.
The Panthers doubles team of
Brynn Capps and Grace Stott
also qualified for state.
█
Reporter: 541-383-0307,
brathbone@bendbulletin.com
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