The CCA girls traveled to Sisters, Oregon on Wednesday evening for the Special District Tennis Tournament. The venue was idyllic and serene - they couldn't have chosen a more perfect location for us. The weather was a bit nippy - there was even some snow and ice still on the ground. Emily Bates, Karolien Celie, Lis Phelps, Peach Srisawadi, Chi Chi Nguyen, Lindsey Hills and Hannah Kang all participated in the tournament. The seeding brought us some very tough match-ups for the 1st round of play (Karolien Celie had to play the #5 seed) and all of the girls lost their first round matches. The doubles team of Lindsey & Hannah were the only team to win their 1st round consolation match placing them into the Consolation quarterfinals. They lost their quarterfinal match to the team from Junction City 8-5 in a Pro Set. They played extremely well. Almost every game came to deuce point. Peach & Chi Chi also gave us a doubles match to remember. They played to an 8-8 tie with a doubles team from Marist and lost in a tiebreak game 7-5. All in all, we had a good season. Even though it was a building year for us, the girls have improved so much from the beginning of the season.

The CCA girls traveled to Sisters, Oregon on Wednesday evening for the Special District Tennis Tournament. The venue was idyllic and serene - they couldn't have chosen a more perfect location for us. The weather was a bit nippy - there was even some snow and ice still on the ground. Emily Bates, Karolien Celie, Lis Phelps, Peach Srisawadi, Chi Chi Nguyen, Lindsey Hills and Hannah Kang all participated in the tournament. The seeding brought us some very tough match-ups for the 1st round of play (Karolien Celie had to play the #5 seed) and all of the girls lost their first round matches. The doubles team of Lindsey & Hannah were the only team to win their 1st round consolation match placing them into the Consolation quarterfinals. They lost their quarterfinal match to the team from Junction City 8-5 in a Pro Set. They played extremely well. Almost every game came to deuce point. Peach & Chi Chi also gave us a doubles match to remember. They played to an 8-8 tie with a doubles team from Marist and lost in a tiebreak game 7-5. All in all, we had a good season. Even though it was a building year for us, the girls have improved so much from the beginning of the season.

As a new coach here at CCA, I have been blessed by great athletes who exhibit fine attitudes and athleticism. Most notably our girls are doing exceptionally well, placing within the top three in nearly every event.
Katie Lovato has PR'd in the last three meets in the 100m, and I expect she'll be sprinting sub 13 times pretty soon. Kim Stalford is again throwing very strong; her average throwing distance is several feet farther than last years'. One bright spot has been Kayla Stalford, who has run very strong 100m and 4x100m relays (which has had top placement in all previous meets), and has always placed 1st or second in the 300m hurdles. Jessica Johns joined our crew late in the season, and she's already throwing 30+ feet.
Yesterday the girls won the meet at Riddle with a whopping 173 points scored.
Stanley Hsu, with his exceptional speed and jumping ability, continues to dazzle us with his long jump and triple jump abilities. Yanos Kroo, who came late in the season, was already expected to be a great shot putter. Yet what a surprise yesterday at Riddle when he not only placed 1st with shot put, but also placed 1st with a javelin throw of 142 feet! (Interestingly, he threw mediocre distances in practice so I almost withdrew him from javelin competition. What a mistake that would have been.) Younsun Kwon has been our sprinter workhorse with top placements in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m, and 110m hurdles. Yesterday Yoan Jeong showed us incredible competitiveness as he won the 1500m in a nailbiting, head to head finish.
As with all teams, we do have our weaknesses. We lack depth in the distance department; it has been difficult recruiting for such events. However, with a large turnout of athletes (There are 23 members) this year and such a happy, positive attitude overall, we are hoping this will attract more potential distance runners for next year. Richard Jack, our distance coach, has done a fine job of maximizing what resources we have in this department.
Overall, the athletes have proven to the coaching staff and the school that they are the real deal and can compete with the best of them. We thank God for His blessing and CCA for its support of CCA Track and Field.

Friday April 11, CCA faced Philomath. Both squads had to do some rearranging due to school related activities, but we managed to get a match in. It came to a 2-2 draw.
In singles #1 Victor Yuen lost to Ben Haslam in a 3rd set super tiebreaker as Ben could not stay to play an entire 3rd set. The match was unbelieveably close with it going 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (8-6), and then 10-8 in the super tie break for Haslam. In all, it took about 2 hours.
#2 singles saw Brandon Kruk defeat Walker Maddalozzo in another 3 set match 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. This match took close to 2.5 hours and was Brandon's first ever singles match as a player for CCA.
There were no #3 or #4 singles played.

In doubles #1 was played by Eric Chan and Richard Hwang for CCA and Charlie Simonds/Morgan Foster for Philomath. 4-6, 2-6 was the final with the win going to Philomath.
#2 doubles were Baur Issin/Dilshod Madiev (CCA) vs Nathan Carrabee/Travis Spencer (Philo) with CCA winning 7-5, 6-0. This was a nice win as Baur and Dilshod had never played a match together.
There were no #3 or #4 doubles played.


On Saturday April 12, CCA faced Hidden Valley. Victor Yuen (CCA) vs. Kameron Frey (HV) in #1 singles 5-7, 4-6 w/ Frey winning. They will have opportunity to battle again on May 3rd.
#2 singles Brandon Kruk (CCA) def. Austin Smith (HV) 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) in a very close match. Brandon had to fight through a long hot match after playing a three set match the prior day plus an extra pro set.
#3 singles Sage Sherer (HV) def. Henry Lin (CCA) 6-2,6-2.
#4 singles Dilshod Mediev (CCA) def. Josh Foust (HV) 6-2, 6-4 Dilshod's game has come a long way since the beginning of the season.

In doubles #1 Eric Chan/Richard Hwang (CCA) def. Stephen Parks/Josh Foust (HV) 6-2, 6-2. Both boys got it going early and the confidence continued to grow as the match went along.
#2 doubles Harrison Shih/Bart Celie (CCA) def. John Abruzzini/Zach Manard (HV) 6-3, 6-2. When both boys are getting their serves in, they are a formidable team.
#3 doubles Baur Issin/Arman Bekmussayev (CCA) lost to Sean Iverson/Austin Smith (HV) 5-7, 6-2, 3-10 in a super tiebreaker 3rd set. After a slow start, the pair (in their first match as a team) got off to a slow start and then battled their way back to force a 3rd set. In the end, the HV team did a better job of getting their serves in.




Overall, the CCA boys squad has really progressed this season. We started out with 5 boys that have never played tennis before and 7 total boys that had never played for CCA before. We have a pretty solid group and from top to bottom, all have become better players... what more can a coach ask for?



Brian Fye
Canyonville Christian Academy
Vice Principal/Athletics Director