CORVALLIS — Making one final appearance as a senior in this week’s state tennis tournament, Philomath High’s Bailey Bell settled for fourth place in a bracket packed tight with high-quality competitors.
Bell’s participation in the 4A/3A/2A/1A Girls Tennis State Championships, which ran Thursday through Saturday at Oregon State University, served as the final act of a stellar career with the Warriors. Bell placed among the top four in all four years of competitive tennis — runner-up in the 4A culminating tournament in 2021, third-place trophies in both 2022 and 2023, and then the fourth-place finish this year with a loss to Marist Catholic freshman Whitney Hedden.
Gallery: PHS tennis at state championships (May 23-25, 2024)
A collection of images from the 4A/3A/2A/1A State Championships at Oregon State University Thursday-Saturday, May 23-25.
“It’s been really cool, I mean, tennis is something I love,” Bell said when asked about her experiences with a girls tennis program that reached new heights during her time on the roster. “I love to see other people enjoying tennis … I think it’s been really great for our team.”
Junior Adele Beckstead also competed at state and reached the consolation bracket’s finals. For the boys, senior Andrew Leonard qualified and came up short both times he took the court.
Finishing four years of state competitions with an overall record of 11-5, Bell said she tries to focus on her own game when meeting a new opponent on the court. But at the same time, she also tries to remain flexible to be able to improve upon any early decisions.
“It definitely takes a little bit of feeling out (an opponent) during the warmup and then during the first few games,” Bell said. “Then, just try to figure out what I need to focus on and what of my strengths will be the best weapon against my opponent.”
Bell headed into the tournament recovering from a recent illness.
“I had a fever earlier this week so it feels good to get that first match out of the way and settle in a little bit, get back into my strokes and my serve,” Bell said after defeating Crook County junior Samatha Ramos, 6-2, 6-0.
Bell played Ramos after both advanced past the first round with byes. After posting the win, there was the anticipation of a possible rematch against Valley Catholic junior Ryan Lomber, the No. 4 seed that Bell defeated in last year’s third-place match, 6-0, 6-0. But Oregon Episcopal sophomore Ella Li pulled out a three-set upset over Lomber to get a shot at Bell.
But Bell was on top of her game and cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Li.
In the semifinals, Bell couldn’t keep pace with top-seeded Patricia Dougherty, Klamath Union senior, with a 6-1, 6-0 loss. Dougherty advanced to the championship match where she was defeated by North Bend sophomore Raegan Farm, 6-3, 6-1.
The loss put Bell for the second straight year in the third-place match to face Marist Catholic’s Hedden, the state’s No. 3 seed who defeated Bell for the district title a week earlier. Hedden had the upper hand in this one at state, 6-2, 6-2.
Beckstead received a first-round bye and was paired up in the second round on Friday morning against Sisters senior Juhree Kizziar, who also advanced with a bye. In a match that featured several long rallies, Kizziar pulled out a 6-1, 6-3 win.
“That was probably my most competitive match of the season,” Beckstead said afterward. “She had a lot of good strokes and we had a lot of good, long rallies.”
At times, it appeared as though Kizziar might be tiring — at least based on her appearance — while Beckstead persevered with elite distance running training in her background.
“I knew when I was down, I was going to have to start extending rallies a lot more,” Beckstead said, a tactic designed to wear down an opponent. “I knew I could grind it out a little more.”
Later in the day, Beckstead regrouped in the consolation bracket and defeated Baker freshman Elizabeth Timm, 8-2. In the consolation semifinals, Beckstead advanced with an 8-5 victory over Ontario senior Laken Herrera. Then in the consolation finals, Beckstead faced Valley Catholic’s Lomber and lost by a 6-3, 6-2 count.
The team title for the girls went to Marist Catholic with North Bend, Oregon Episcopal, St. Mary’s-Medford and Vale all tied for second. Philomath ended up seventh.
Leonard reached a major milestone by qualifying for the state tournament in his final opportunity as a Warriors senior (he competed in 2021 at the 4A culminating event, a nonsanctioned tournament).
“I feel like I’ve been handling it a little better than I expected,” Leonard said when asked about the pressure of competing on the state stage. “It has been kind of stressful but I’m able to look past it. Hanging out at other tournaments and state in the past I think has helped me get used to lots of people being around and playing tennis under pressure.”
Leonard opened Thursday afternoon with a first-round match against Catlin Gabel sophomore Aston Selley and came out fairly strong with an accurate serve and several winning shots. But Selley hung tough and overtook Leonard late in the set before controlling the second set in a 7-5, 6-1 win.
“I’d say there is definitely a lot of adjustment to who I’m playing,” Leonard said when asked about his approach to matches. “Because if it’s somebody who just keeps it going, then I can’t be more aggressive with it, but if it’s somebody who will make more mistakes, you know, I’ll let them make mistakes. It does switch up a lot.”
In the end, however, Leonard does try to just focus on his own play.
“I like to play my game and so usually I’m trying to preserve some of that,” he said. “But it definitely changes based on who I’m playing and how they play.”
In the consolation bracket, Leonard was matched up with Weston-McEwen junior Trysten Burns and lost under pro set scoring, 8-4.
Said Leonard, “It’s been a lot of fun to get to know people and have a team to play on and with a really great coach and just see that our team does pretty well, especially for a public school, and in our league.”
In the boys championship match, Marist Catholic sophomore EJ Roedl defeated Catlin Gabel freshman Zareh Gonzalvo, 6-1, 6-2.
Marist Catholic won the team title with Oregon Episcopal second, Catlin Gabel third and St. Mary’s-Medford fourth.
