Polk County Sports
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 6, 2016 11A
Tennis: Tournament fun, but challenging
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Justin Toews took first in the men’s 3.0 bracket at the Monmouth-In-
dependence Fourth of July Tennis Tournament.
Continued from Page 10A
Later, I found out he has com-
peted in USTA tournaments be-
fore.
Oh great.
But, as the 1980 USA hockey
team taught me, miracles can hap-
pen.
We stepped onto the court and
warmed up. Then, it was game
time.
He tossed the ball into the air
and our epic match was off.
Ok, epic might not be the right
word to use.
Domination would be a better
word. Slaughter perhaps. Not by
me, mind you.
Justin had me running all
around the court. And while I was
able to return serves decently well
and extend points, let’s just say I
had about as good of a chance to
win as a snowball has lasting for an
hour in hell.
But, did I have my happy end-
ing? Did I triumph over a seeming-
ly unbeatable foe? Could this be
the basis of an inspiring block-
buster movie?
No.
I took Justin to deuce in two
games. That was as close to win-
ning as I got and lost 6-0, 6-0. It
was a thorough beat down, though
he did give a word of encourage-
ment. In all seriousness, he was a
nice fellow.
No, that didn’t make the beat
down any more fun.
For the record, Justin did win
the 3.0 bracket … so … at least I
lost to the champ
That, in theory, should have
been the end of my tennis excur-
sion. I was tired and resting when
organizer Patty Youngren asked if I
would play someone in a match
for fun.
I agreed and we traveled to
Western Oregon to throw down.
It’s a shame no one was there to
watch that one because that had
ESPN Classic written all over it.
Well, maybe not. But it was defi-
nitely fun and a lot closer than my
first match, though that isn’t saying
much, all things considered.
He and I went back and forth in
the first set. I dropped down 2-0,
before winning my first game. I
tried my best to lob, hit, slice and
spike my way to a first-set victory,
tying the set at five games each. I
moved the court like Rafael Nadal,
hit like Roger Federer and had the
poise of Pete Sampras — if Nadal
was an out of shape athlete, Feder-
er an unskilled, slightly uncoordi-
nated tennis player and Sampras
an athlete who let frustration get
the best of him multiple times.
I lost the final two games and
the first set 7-5.
It was at this point I realized I’d
have to win two sets to take the
match. And the first set had as
many games as my entire first
match (12). I was getting tired. The
temperature was rising and I was
frustrated/disappointed with los-
ing the first set.
All that equaled a 6-1 loss in the
second.
By the end of the second match,
I was exhausted and beaten. But it
was an enjoyable experience and
one that had me excited to contin-
ue playing tennis.
Turns out Novak had fallen ear-
lier that day as well at Wimbledon.
See, even champions fall every
so often, though his match may
have been slightly bigger than
mine.
Only slightly, though.
Avgi: Will play football for WOU this fall
Continued from Page 10A
He decided to attend
WOU — a decision that paid
big dividends for both par-
ties.
But through it all, football
never strayed far from his
mind.
“I think I knew when I
made the decision to play
basketball that somewhere
along the road, I was going
to come back to play foot-
ball,” Avgi said. “It felt like
the right time (last season).”
Avgi will return to WOU to
play football in the fall for
one last season — he is able
to because of having five
calendar years to compete
in up to four years in a given
sport.
“I’ve been working on my
speed,” Avgi said. “I’m
spending a lot of time with
Cory (Metzgar), our strength
and conditioning coach. I’m
working on my route run-
ning, working with our quar-
terback and just doing some
extra work.”
Avgi has also been in con-
tact with WOU alumni —
and Super Bowl champion
— Kevin Boss to help guide
him through the process of
turning professional.
“ We’r e r e a l l y g o o d
friends,” Avgi said. “I’ve been
talking to him probably the
last two or three years. He
said he will train with me
after the season for whatev-
er comes next after football.”
As of now, the plan will be
to continue to work on
strength and conditioning
once the season is over.
“I think staying in shape,
working on football drills
and getting ready for a pro
day,” Avgi said. “I’d want to
possibly get in the NFL com-
bine and get a chance to
show what I can do.”
Performing well at a pro
day was key to a recent
WOU alumni getting his
NFL shot. Former Wolves
player Tyrell Williams im-
pressed at Oregon State’s
pro day and eventually
signed with the San Diego
Chargers as an undrafted
free agent in 2015. Avgi
hopes for a similar path to
success.
WOU’s most decorated
basketball player may be
making a surprising choice,
but it’s a challenge he’s excit-
ed to see through.
Central: All teams taking part in program
Continued from Page 10A8
The event is a weekly
story times followed by an
activity aimed at kids 8 years
and younger.
“It was good and fun,”
Padilla said. “I like reading
aloud and talking to kids. I
was trying to involve them. I
think it’s important for us to
show kids to be who you
are.”
Senior Chris Polanco from
the boys tennis team also
read a story.
“It was fun for me out
there,” Polanco said.
After story time, the ath-
letes helped kids make their
own paper bag puppet.
The partnership between
the library and Central’s ath-
letics came as a result of the
library’s summer reading
theme, “Ready, Set, Read”
Carrie Kasperick, youth
services librarian, said.
Thursday story time
• Monmouth Public Library will hold a special story time
Thursdays at 10:15 a.m. through Aug. 11.
• Each week, athletes from different Central High School ath-
letic teams will read stories and lead kids in a game or activity
aimed at kids 8 years and younger.
• There is no cost to attend.
• For more information: Monmouth Public Library, 503-838-
1932.
“This is the first year we’ve
partnered with the high
school,” she said. “All the
stories and activities are
sports related. I contacted
Central Athletics Director
Shane Hedrick and he was
very supportive. He helped
coordinate a weekly session
with the high school ambas-
sadors.”
Each Thursday through
Aug. 11, different Central
sports teams will send repre-
sentatives to read and lead
an activity or game.
And while the focus was
on the fun, Kasperick said
the kids also get to have a
positive influence in their
life.
“It’s been inspiring for
the younger kids to see the
older kids because they
don’t always get as much
interaction
with
teenagers,” Kasperick said.
“It’s a great for them to see
examples of what a teenage
role model can be and hav-
Living in the United States a
fun, memorable experience
By Thomas Gniadecki
For The Itemizer-Observer
*Editor’s note: Thomas
Gniadecki attended Dallas
High School on a foreign ex-
change student program. He
will return to his home in
December in July.
First of all I would like to
thank the Rotary club of Dal-
las for sponsoring my stay
abroad.
Being on exchange is a
wonderful experience; expe-
riencing new cultures, be-
coming a part of a family,
and making new friends
from the other side of the
world. There is an incessant
joy of being on exchange,
because something new al-
ways happens. My host fam-
ilies have taken me places
that I have always dreamt to
see, such as Las Vegas,
Grand Canyon, Disneyland,
Seaworld, Death Valley, and
much more.
I have done three sports
during my exchange: soccer,
wrestling, and tennis. My fa-
vorite sport of those three is
definitely tennis, which I
have had a blast of fun play-
ing here. During the season I
played tennis on average six
times a week, where I now
only play once a week, on
Wednesdays.
The Wednesday program
is coordinated mainly by
Petra Cole and Mary Chris-
tensen. The fun takes place
at Dallas High School courts
at 6 p.m.
Everyone is welcome to
attend, and it is lots of fun!
Our newest attendee is the
one and only Lukas Eggen
from the Polk County Itemiz-
er-Observer. Eggen has great
talent in the sport of tennis.
He does not have a lot of ex-
ing a positive experience
with them.”
Polanco hopes
this
sports-themed program
leads not only to a love of
reading, but an increased in-
terest in sports.
“I hope kids get inspired
to move around more. I see
a lot of kids not being active
at all,” Polanco said.
Kids can still sign up for
Monmouth’s summer read-
ing program and Thursday’s
story time is open to the
public.
And with the chance to
see some of Central’s ath-
letes all summer long, kids
can have fun, foster a love of
reading and be inspired.
“It’s fun to go outside your
comfort zone,” Padilla said.
“I hope they see if you do,
you can always have fun and
get them excited to start
school.”
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Central senior Chris Polanco reads a tennis-themed book
to children on Thursday morning.
Returning serve
perience, but has a great
feeling of the ball and when
to hit it. He planned on play-
ing in the annual Fourth of
July tournament in Inde-
pendence, and I am sure he
performed well. I am also
playing in the Independence
tournament on Saturday
and Sunday. The tourna-
ment is coordinated by Cen-
tral’s head coach, Patti Youn-
gren. It is because of people
like her that makes it possi-
ble for the sport of tennis to
continue.
I will continue to play
when I return home, with
fond memor ies of the
friends and competitors in
the U.S.
I have been impressed
with the community sup-
port like Rotary and the
gracious volunteers who
have made my stay unfor-
gettable.
Visit our website, www.polkio.com
for local news, sports and community events.
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
A player returns a serve during the Monmouth-Independence Fourth of July Tennis
Tournament on Saturday. The two-day event had a large number of participants,
according to organizer Patty Youngren. Results available at www.polkio.com.