Boys doubles team looks for title, other Bulldogs hope to gain experience at state

BOISE — The seven Sandpoint tennis players taking the court at state begin their pursuit to bring home glory on Friday morning.

Boys doubles pair Josh Embree and Christian Story, girls doubles team Olivia Petruso and Denali Terry, mixed doubles pair Tyler McNamee and Kailee McNamee and girls singles player Neva Reseska will all be in action across multiple sites in Boise.

Embree and Story have their eyes set on the ultimate prize — a state title. And why not? As seniors, the duo has rolled through almost all the competition they’ve encountered this spring and only dropped two games en route to a regional championship in doubles.

But coming into this season, the pair wasn’t expecting to team up in doubles. As the No. 1 and No. 2 players on the boys side, Embree and Story opened the year playing singles. However, that didn’t last very long.

Just a few matches into the season, the powerful duo decided to team up in doubles. The decision was simple.

“It wasn’t about getting to state, it was about winning it or getting as far as we can,” Embree said.

The pair realized it would be difficult to get both of them to state in singles given the competition in the region. Likely, only one of them would have made it to state. Then, once they got to Boise they would have faced a handful of Division I bound singles players.

So why not team up and ensure they both get to state in their final seasons? The move has paid off as the pair has proven to be lethal on the court, and head coach Kent Anderson believes they are as good as any other doubles team they will see at state.

The decision also gave Embree and Story more enjoyment on the court and allowed them to let loose. The whole team was energized by the move.

“We got out on the court together and it might have been shaky at first,” Embree said, “but it was fun and the most fun I’ve had in a long time, so we rolled with it.”

Embree, who transferred to SHS his junior year, played doubles at his last high school in Austin, Texas, so it wasn’t a big adjustment for him. Plus, Embree and Story had natural chemistry.

“He and I have two different playing styles and those different playing styles work great together,” Story said.

Embree said the duo is confident they can do some damage at state because they have great communication on the court and have the ability to keep each other calm when things aren’t going their way.

Last season was taken away and it’s hard not to imagine what the duo could have done in 2020 if they’d had a chance to team up. But that’s in the past, and the pair is determined to leave everything they have left on the court at state. Embree said their sole opportunity to earn a state medal only adds excitement to it all.

“I’m bummed that I only get one chance rather than two [at state],” Embree said, “but I feel good knowing that it’s our time to shine. We only get one chance, so we might as well make it or break it.”

Petruso and Terry made a bit of a dark horse run at regionals to grab the girls doubles title and a berth to state.

The duo had lost to the No. 1 doubles teams for Lakeland and Moscow during the regular season, but at districts they rolled to a pair of victories in straight sets over both.

In the championship match, they battled the No. 1 doubles pair for Moscow and in the second set fell behind 5-2. But Petruso and Terry won five straight points over the Bears to avoid a decisive third set and wrap up the title.

Terry said the pair were amped when they earned the regional title and she hopes they can carry that momentum with them at state.

“I think we’ve definitely got better at attacking the net more,” she said, “and we figured out how to hit back against teams that we lost to.”

Terry admitted it took some time for her and Petruso to find a rhythm, but once they did doubles play became really enjoyable for her.

“I love playing with Olivia,” she said. “After finding a good partner to be with, it’s actually very nice to play doubles with someone you communicate well with.”

Their relationship on the court continues to blossom each and every week.

“Throughout the year, we’ve just kind of figured it out,” Terry said, “and we have our own system that goes on. We don’t really get mad at each other when someone misses because that always happens.”

The junior captains are planning to play doubles together next year as well. Terry said this state trip will give them a taste of what to expect and she believes that will help them make a deep postseason run as seniors.

The mixed doubles team made up of the two McNamee siblings hasn’t been playing together for long, but they were able to place second at regionals to secure a spot to state.

In fact, it was just a couple of weeks ago that Anderson asked the siblings if they would be interested in teaming up. Tyler admitted he was a little hesitant at first because he had never played mixed doubles before, but the senior knew he and his younger sister, Kailee, could make some noise at regionals if they teamed up — and sure enough they did.

The duo knows how to push each other on the court and that sibling connection has paid dividends.

“I think it’s a lot different playing with my sister just because we can get mad at each other a little bit more than playing with a random person,” Tyler said. “I think she’s always been super competitive growing up with her, and so sometimes she’ll just try and prove herself to me. It’s always like a game, I guess.”

And of course conversations about matches and points find their way to the family dinner table most nights, and every once in a while there’s some friendly finger pointing, Tyler joked.

“I can definitely be a lot harder on my sister,” he said, “but I think she does better under pressure.”

Tyler said his serve is as strong as it’s ever been and the pair can’t give up any easy points at state if they want to be successful.

Regardless of what happens down in Boise, Tyler is glad he gets to finish his high school tennis career beside his sister.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said, “Even if we don’t win, it will give us something to talk about for the rest of our lives.”

In girls singles, freshman Neva Reseska will get her first look at state. She hopes this is the first of many trips to state during her career, and Anderson is excited to see her battle some of the best players in the state.

Maile Evans, Berkeley Cox and Tyler Korn will serve as alternates for the Bulldogs at state. Matches for Sandpoint in the double elimination 4A state tournament begin at 7 a.m. PST on Friday.

FIRST ROUND MATCHES

GIRLS SINGLES — Miranda Austin, Bishop Kelly, vs. Neva Reseska, Sandpoint.

GIRLS DOUBLES — Stroud/Ames, Ridgevue, vs. Olivia Petruso/Denali Terry, Sandpoint.

BOYS DOUBLES — Josh Embree/Christian Story, Sandpoint, vs. Broadbent/Coates, Twin Falls.

MIXED DOUBLES — Tyler McNamee/Kailee McNamee, Sandpoint, vs. Summers/Kingston, Ridgevue.