Sports

Ella Riddle cruises to district singles title

Craig Wright
May 7, 2013

Ella Riddle, junior, snatched the girls tennis district singles title last week in a dominating manner, by dropping only four games in the entire tournament. Entering as the number one overall seed, Riddle breezed through the first day’s competition to qualify for the state tournament, losing only one game in the process.

Against Olivia Dozois of Lake Oswego in the semifinals, Riddle emerged 6-1, 6-1. To conclude her strong campaign, Riddle dispatched Kali Mcollister of Grant High School 6-1, 6-0 in the district final.

Heading into the state tournament, Riddle appears to be one of the top contenders for this year’s state title. Erin Larner, a junior from Jesuit who already owns two state titles, will undoubtedly enter as the top seed, but Riddle should not trail far behind in the seedings.

Macie Coronel and Nicole Campbell, seniors, reached the quarterfinals before falling to rivals Claire Walker and Hana Watari of Clackamas 6-4, 6-3. Campbell and Coronel entered as the fifth seed but were unable to qualify for state.

Also reaching the quarterfinals was Rebecca Cruze, sophomore. Cruze defeated Marie Kanapeaux of Lakeridge 6-0, 6-4 in the round of 16, before falling to Katie Day of Lake Oswego, the second seed, 6-0, 6-0.

The state tournament will be held at Tualatin Hills Tennis Center May 16-18 beginning with early round singles at 9 a.m.

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About the Contributor

Craig Wright, Reporter

Whether running drills on the tennis court or jamming in his basement, Craig Wright, senior, fully commits himself to his passions. Wright has been playing tennis since he was six, when he was shorter than the net. He has been on the Boys Varsity Team all four years of high school and hopes to be captain this year. Wright is just as big of a fanatic about music as he is about tennis; he’s been to too many concerts to have a sure count; his best estimate is 34.

Wright’s interest in tennis was inherited; his dad played tennis in high school and shared his interest with Wright’s mom. His parents introduced he and his brother, Brett, to the sport and they both took to it. Last year Wright and his doubles partner, Jonathan Macemon, Class of 2012, were third in the District Championship and made it to State. In fact Wright’s favorite vacation was going South Carolina, primarily because he and his family were able to play tennis on real green clay courts.

Even though he plays tennis year round,somehow Wright has time for intramural basketball. However, according to Wright, when it comes to intramural “the less effort the better.” Another extracurricular activity that Wright participates in is Symphonic Band; he is a percussionist.

Wright’s interest in music extends beyond percussion; he has been playing guitar since sixth grade and bass guitar since eighth grade. The reason that Wright is so interested in playing instruments is that he is a huge music fan.

“I like a little bit of everything,” Wright said.

Wright’s brother introduced him to a wide variety of music, and they share many favorite bands like The Beatles, The Replacements, My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire, Gaslight Anthem, The Ramones and The Clash. Wright idolizes many musicians and dreams of meeting them.

“Joe Strummer[The Clash] would be awesome [to meet], but he’s dead,” Wright said, “I’d like to meet Brian Fallon[The Gaslight Anthem]; he’s just a cool dude.”

Wright’s interest in the arts continues into his academic career. His favorite class is AP English, and he thinks he wants to study English or journalism in college.