Polk County
Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 8, 2015 10A
TENNIS
SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8
Baseball: American Le-
gion: Demarini Dirtbags at
Florence (DH), 1 p.m. Divi-
sion I Junior Baseball: Cor-
vallis at Dallas, 6 p.m. Mc-
Nary at Central, 6 p.m.
THURSDAY, JULY 9
Baseball: Division I Jun-
ior Baseball: South Salem
at Dallas, 6 p.m. Central at
Sweet Home, 6 p.m. Divi-
sion II Junior Baseball: Dal-
las at McNary, 6 p.m.
FRIDAY, JULY 10
Baseball: Division I Jun-
ior Baseball: Dallas at Cen-
tral, 6 p.m.
SATURDAY, JULY 11
Baseball: American Le-
gion: The Yard at Demarini
Dirtbags (DH), 2 p.m. Divi-
sion I Junior Baseball: Sil-
verton at Central (DH), 11
a.m. Division II Junior Base-
ball: Dallas at league play-
off vs. TBA, TBA.
Recreation: Monmo-
uth-Independence Tennis
Tournament, TBA, TBA.
SUNDAY, JULY 12
Baseball: American Le-
gion: Demarini Dirtbags at
Putnam (DH), 2 p.m. Divi-
sion II Junior Baseball: Dal-
las at league playoff vs.
TBA, TBA.
Recreation: Monmo-
uth-Independence Tennis
Tournament, TBA, TBA.
MONDAY, JULY 13
Baseball: Division I Jun-
ior Baseball: Philomath at
Dallas, 6 p.m. Central at
North Salem, 6 p.m.
TUESDAY, JULY 14
Baseball: Division I Jun-
ior Baseball: Central at
Philomath, 3:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15
Baseball: American Le-
gion: Putnam at Demarini
Dirtbags, 5 p.m. Division I
Junior Baseball: Silverton
at Dallas, 6 p.m.
—
SERVING PASSION
Local players hope to advance at Southern Oregon championships
By Lukas Eggen
Schedules Subject to Change
QUICK HITS
Summerfest
signups open
DALLAS — Signups are
open for the 2015 Sum-
merfest Run on July 25.
There are 5- and 10-kilo-
meter runs available as well
as a fun run/walk.
Cost is $10 for the fun
run and $25 for the 5K and
10K races.
Races start at 8 a.m. at
the Dallas Radio Shack.
Online and mail-in regis-
tration is due by 5 p.m. on
July 23.
The Dallas Booster Club
will have a booth at Sum-
merfest on July 23 that will
accept registration.
There will also be day-of
registration on July 25.
Proceeds from the Sum-
merfest Run go to the Dal-
las Booster Club, which
supports Dallas high school
athletics.
For more information:
www.runsignup.com/Sum-
merfestRun.
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Mary Christensen prepares to return a shot on July 1. Christensen will compete at a
United States Tennis Association (USTA) tournament on Saturday in Eugene.
The Itemizer-Observer
Tennis Time
DALLAS — For Mary
Christensen and Petra Cole,
tennis has always been more
than a way to stay active.
In fact, the pair meets
each New Year’s Day to play
a friendly tennis match — no
matter what.
“We’ve played in rain,
snow and sleet,” Cole said.
“It’s been so icy you couldn’t
move around because it was
like an ice skating rink.”
The tradition is a testa-
ment to the power of tennis,
which helped jump start
their friendship when they
met on the tennis court for
the first time.
“ T h e re’s s u c h c a m a -
raderie,” Cole said. “In other
sports, you don’t really have
people close by to talk to. In
tennis, you’re constantly
talking to your partner and
interacting with your partner
so you get close with the
people you play with.”
Tennis may have
brought them to-
gether, but once
they start playing,
it’s another feeling
that takes over.
Christensen and
Cole are part of the
Timber Hill Tennis Club 40
and older women’s team in
Corvallis. The squad com-
petes in a United States Ten-
nis Association (USTA)
league — providing a way for
all involved to satisfy a burn-
ing desire.
“We’re quite competitive,
and this was our only option
(to satisfy that competitive-
What: USTA Southern
Oregon Championships.
When: Saturday, TBA.
Where: Eugene Swim
and Tennis Club.
What’s at stake: Dallas
residents Mary Christensen,
Petra Cole and Alice Bibler
and Central boys tennis
coach Patti Youngren will
compete for the Timberhill
Tennis Club team in the
women’s 40 and older divi-
sion against the Athletic
Club of Bend. The winner
advances to sectionals
against teams from Oregon
and Washington.
ness),” Christensen said.
Christensen and Cole play
doubles, while the pair re-
cruited Alice Bibler to play
singles.
Training hasn’t always
been easy — Christensen
said they travel more than 40
minutes to Corvallis to prac-
tice — but the results have
been worth it.
The team earned a
spot in the Southern
Oregon Champi-
onships on Saturday
in Eugene against
the Athletic Club of
Bend. Three doubles
matches and two singles
matches will be played, with
the winning team moving on
to the next round.
If they advance, they will
compete at sectionals Aug.
28-30 in Washington for a
chance to go to a national
tournament in October in
Arizona.
See SERVE, Page 12A
Youngren excited for tournament
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — Dal-
las isn’t the only community
represented on Timberhill
Tennis Club’s team. Central
boys tennis coach Patti Youn-
gren has been a member on
the squad for several years
and served as team captain
on multiple occasions. This
year saw several new chal-
lenges.
“Because of coaching, we
didn’t form a team (during
the spring),” Youngren said.
That meant the Timber-
hill Tennis Club squad is
playing in a different divi-
sion than past seasons.
Yo u n g re n’s s c h e d u l e
hasn’t lightened up now that
school is out, though.
Youngren will help run
the Monmouth-Indepen-
dence Fourth of July tennis
tournament on Saturday
and Sunday along with Pan-
thers girls tennis coach Dave
Eble, who plays on a men’s
team on Sunday in Eugene.
In previous years, Youn-
gren has also taken part in
the Gate Golf Tournament.
“I finally had to give up on
Becoming Ironman
trying to fit it into my sched-
ule when the USTA switched
the (tennis) venue to Eu-
gene,” Youngren said.
Playing tennis has re-
mained a priority for Youn-
gren. Just because they have
less practice together than
in previous years doesn’t
mean expectations are low-
ered — Youngren and her
teammates except to com-
pete well come Saturday.
“We are a very cohesive
group that encourages each
other,” Youngren said. “I’m
playing with a new partner.
Our way of playing is con-
trasting, and I think it will
keep our opponents on their
toes well. … For us older
folk, it is all about place-
ment, not hitting the ball as
hard as you can.”
On Your Marks ...
Dallas graduate finishes distance triathlon
By Lukas Eggen
STAT SHEET
The Itemizer-Observer
COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho
— Melissa Meyer is not
one to shy away from a
challenge.
On June 28, she com-
pleted perhaps her greatest
athletic feat, finishing the
Ironman Coeur d’Alene, a
2.4-mile swim, 112-mile
bike ride and 26.2-mile
run, in Idaho in 14 hours,
36 minutes and 7 seconds.
The total
number of
runners
who fin-
ished the Monmouth-Inde-
pendence Mini-Marathon’s
2.6-mile run on Saturday
morning.
250
2
The number of
years in a row Brady
Beagley has fin-
ished first overall in
the Mini-Marathon. Bea-
gley finished the run with a
time of 12 minutes, 54 sec-
onds on Saturday.
www.polkio.com
Bright idea
LU ANN MEYER/for the Itemizer-Observer
Melissa Meyer smiles during the bike portion of the Iron-
man Coeur d’Alene on June 28.
Midway through 2014,
Meyer completed a half
Ironman.
See IRONMAN, Page 12A
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
A runner gets a head start during the Monmouth-Inde-
pendence Mini-Marathon on Saturday morning. The
annual Fourth of July tradition attracted 250 finishers
during the fun run. For more photos, see Page 11A.
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