Cruisers Make History at 2A State Tennis Tournament
- Skip Smith
- May 26
- 3 min read
The Eatonville High School girls tennis team made a long-overdue return to the spotlight this past weekend at the 2A State Tennis Championships, held at the Nordstrom Tennis Center on the University of Washington campus. Senior Bailey Andersen and the doubles team of seniors Lillian Bickford and Alayna Meyer battled through stiff competition, representing the Cruisers with grit, composure, and history-making performances.
For the first time in two decades, Eatonville had not one, but two entries reach the second day of the state tournament. It was a breakthrough moment for the program — one head coach Alex Christensen called “the cherry on top of the sundae” after years of grinding to reach this level.
Bickford and Meyer opened their run on Friday, May 23, with a straight-sets victory over Chief Sealth’s Kennedy and Rasmussen, 6-2, 6-4, showcasing sharp communication and steady baseline play.
The win advanced them to the quarterfinals, where they ran into a dominant Columbia River team. Emma Lungwitz and Sydney Dreves — the eventual state runners-up — handed the Eatonville duo a tough 6-1, 6-0 loss, dropping Bickford and Meyer into the consolation bracket.
Their next match came against Ridgefield’s Abigail Vance and Ella Norman, a scrappy tandem that halted Eatonville’s run with a commanding 6-0, 6-0 win. Despite the early exit, the seniors had helped lift the program to a rare state berth and added to a banner season for the Cruisers.
“They lost to two of the strongest doubles teams in the entire tournament,” Christensen said. “That Columbia River duo was a buzz saw — they were basically unstoppable this weekend.”
In singles play, Bailey Andersen carved a deeper path through the bracket. She opened her tournament with a clinical performance against Lindbergh’s Alyssa Ta, notching a 6-0, 6-2 win fueled by dominant serving.
“Bailey was lights out with her serve,” Christensen said. “She was hitting aces left and right, winning points fast and keeping control.”
Her win put her into the quarterfinals, where she too encountered Columbia River — this time, in the form of Jenny Serebriakova. Like her teammates, Andersen found herself overwhelmed by the eventual runner-up, dropping the match 6-0, 6-1.
But Andersen bounced back with focus and fire. In the consolation bracket, she faced Emma Hamilton from W.F. West — an opponent who had beaten her earlier in the season.
“All year, Bailey has relished getting second chances against players she’s lost to,” Christensen said. “She wasn’t going to let that one get away.”
Andersen seized early momentum with a 6-1 first set, then closed out the match 6-2. The win guaranteed her a top-eight finish and a spot in the placement match, securing Eatonville’s first individual state placing since 2005.
In her final match of the weekend, Andersen squared off against Lynden’s Rilanna Newcomb for seventh place. Newcomb came out on top, 6-3, 6-0, but Andersen still left with a state medal and the knowledge that she’d helped Eatonville clinch its best team finish in more than 25 years — seventh overall.
A Season to Remember
Though their runs ended short of the championship rounds, the journey was far from a disappointment. The Eatonville girls not only made school history but did it against the toughest competition in the field — both Columbia River entries they faced finished as state runners-up, and Columbia River claimed the team championship overall.
“Our girls had an incredible season,” Christensen said. “But it wasn’t easy. They worked their tails off from day one, and this tournament was the reward — a grand finale to an amazing three-year run.”
The results — two state qualifiers, one state placer, and a top-10 team finish — mark a high point for a program that’s been steadily climbing back into contention.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Christensen added. “They brought everything they had. This was our best finish in decades.”
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