One year after the Sequim duo earned a spot in the doubles championship title match, Jessica Dietzman and Kalli Wiker are back at the state 2A tourney.
Dietzman and Wiker swept through three opponents with their second consecutive West Central District championship at the Kitsap Tennis Club in Bremerton on May 17 and 18, and now head to the state 2A tourney with the district’s top seed.
“They played great and were very focused,” Sequim coach Mark Textor said.
They’ll open the double-elimination state tourney against Lillian Hyde and Keara Sinclair of West Valley (Spokane) at the Nordstrom Tennis Center on University of Washington’s Seattle campus on May 24.
Dietzman and Wiker were 15-0 heading into the district tournament and, after a first-round bye, swept Lori Apolonio and Diana Caoagdan of Renton 6-0, 6-0 in the district quarterfinals to secure a state tourney berth.
In the semifinals, the Sequim pair knocked off Grace Hansen and Jamison Jacobsen of North Kitsap, 6-2, 6-1.
In a decidedly tougher match for the district crown, Dietzman and Wiker edged Stella Fosberg and Chloe Watson of Highline 6-3, 7-5.
Textor said that final match against Fosberg and Watson was tough.
“They were tested,” Textor said of his team “They were down in that second set 5-4 and won three in a row on a really good team.”
Textor said it’s hard to predict how well Dietzman and Wiker will do based on their big run last year at the state tournament.
“We’re planning to play hard and see what happens,” he said. “We’re optimistic we can get a few wins at state.”
Last year, Dietzman and Wiker’s lone loss came in the title game to Sammamish doubles partners Katrina Kuntz and Nina Vongsaly. That same Sammamish duo is back and playing on the other side of the doubles bracket at this year’s state tourney.
Boys set for tourney
Sequim’s two boys doubles teams, both of whom qualified for the state tourney in the fall and have been prepping for state during their seven-month layoff, join Dietzman and Wiker at the state 2A tourney in Seattle this weekend.
Sequim teams of Thomas Hughes and Blake Wiker — Kalli’s brother — and Liam Payne and Damon Little will vie for state tourney wins at the Nordstrom Center. Wiker and Hughes went 14-0 and were the boys’ district champions in the fall, while Little and Payne completed the fall campaign 17-5 and placed third at districts.
Wiker and Payne will a very busy week: both qualified for the state 2A golf championship in Liberty Lake (May 21-22) and return to Seattle for the state tennis tourney on May 24.
“Unfortunately, I don’t get to work with them as much as I would like, but they’ve been playing tennis on their own,” Textor said.
Peninsula Daily News sports editor Pierre LaBossiere contributed to this report.
