Cruiser Tennis Edge Trojans, Move Into First Place After Perfect Week

The Eatonville Cruiser girls tennis team continued their hot streak last week, going 3-0 and climbing into first place in the league standings with crucial wins over Clover Park, Fife, and Franklin Pierce.

The Cruisers kicked off the week Tuesday with a dominant 5-0 sweep on the road against Clover Park. Eatonville didn’t drop a single set across five matches. At No. 1 singles, Bailey Andersen cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 win, while Megan Blake impressed at No. 2 singles, handling a tough opponent with a 6-3, 6-1 victory. On the doubles courts, the pairings of Lillian Bickford and Alayna Meyer (6-1, 6-0), Tia Schanbeck and Tierney Amaral (6-0, 6-2), and Jennavieve Smith and Kate Marsh (6-1, 6-0) each rolled to straight-set wins.

Thursday brought the week’s most intense challenge — a first-place showdown at Fife. Andersen again set the tone, winning her No. 1 singles match decisively, 6-1, 6-0. However, Eatonville found themselves in an early hole after losses at No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles. Bickford and Meyer fell in a hard-fought 6-7, 4-6 match, while Amelia Ferreira battled through three sets at No. 2 singles before falling 3-6, 6-3, 4-6.

Schanbeck and Amaral kept Eatonville’s hopes alive at No. 2 doubles, coming back from a first-set tiebreak loss to win the second set 6-3. A forfeit by Fife sealed that match in the Cruisers' favor, tying the team match at 2-2 and setting up a decisive final court. Megan Blake and Isabel Volk answered the call at No. 3 doubles. After dropping the first set 3-6, the pair fought back to take the second set 6-3 and clinched the overall team victory with another 6-3 win in the third set.

Eatonville closed out the week Friday with another 5-0 sweep, this time over Franklin Pierce. Andersen capped her unbeaten week with a 6-3, 7-6 win at No. 1 singles, while Ferreira rebounded from Thursday’s loss with a strong 7-6, 6-3 victory at No. 2 singles. The Cruisers were equally dominant in doubles play. Bickford and Meyer outlasted their opponents in a three-set battle, winning 6-1, 6-7, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles. Schanbeck and Amaral stayed sharp with a convincing 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 2 doubles, and Blake and Volk breezed to a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 3.

With the undefeated week, the Cruisers improved to 9-3 overall and 8-1 in league play, moving into first place with just three matches remaining in the regular season.

“The girls have really put it together since Spring Break,” Eatonville head coach Alex Christiansen said. “This was a tough week of matches and I'm proud that the girls came to play.”

Eatonville will look to close out the regular season strong, starting with a road matchup against Foss on Tuesday, April 29. They return home to face Steilacoom on Wednesday and wrap up the season against Washington on Thursday.