Eugene-area girls and boys tennis players to watch in OSAA state tournament

Local girls and boys tennis players will look to make their mark during the OSAA state tournament, which kicks off at locations in the Portland area and Corvallis on Thursday and concludes Saturday.

The Class 6A state tournament begins Thursday and will be held at Tualatin Hills Tennis Center in Beaverton. Class 5A begins Friday at West Hills Racquet and Fitness Club in Beaverton and ends Saturday at Tualatin Hills Tennis Center.

Class 4A/3A/2A/1A will be held Thursday-Saturday at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

Here is a closer look at competitors from the Eugene-area that will compete for singles and doubles titles.

Sheldon's sister duo seeks first 6A title

Sheldon doubles partners and sisters Emerson Kearney, a senior, and Hayden Kearney, a sophomore, won their second district title to qualify for state, defeating Grants Pass' Janessa Pilcher and Amelia Gladbach, 6-1, 6-0.

At last year's state tournament, the sisters were the state runner-up in the 6A girls' tournament.

Peyton Tyner aims for second straight doubles title for Marist

A year after winning a doubles state title, Marist senior Peyton Tyner is hoping to make it two in a row with new partner and senior Andrew Forsyth.

Forsyth played singles for Marist in the 4A/3A/2A/1A state tournament the last two years.

Tyner and Forsyth won their first district title, edging North Marion's Eduardo Mandujano and Colby Jones, 6-0, 6-0.

Marist's EJ Roedl was the state runner-up last year as a freshman. He won his first district title this year, defeating teammate Alexander Ricketts, 6-0, 6-1.

South Eugene qualifies six boys in 6A

South Eugene doubles partners Aidan Kresko and Naren Mahadevan, a junior and senior, respectively, won their first district title. They defeated Sheldon's Cash Daughters and Carter Ritchie, 7-6 (9), 7-5.

South Eugene's Blake Chandler is a three-time state qualifier with a 16-5 record his junior year. He qualified for state with a second-place finish at districts.

South Eugene freshman Yehuda Zaretsky impressed with a 19-2 record this season. He qualified for state with a fourth-place finish at districts.

South Eugene defended its district title with 45 team points with the help of Axe doubles partners junior Malachi Alrahmani and senior Benjamin Butler, who qualified for state with a third-place finish at districts.

Churchill, Springfield boys qualify in 5A

Churchill doubles partners and seniors Vincenzo Castaldo and Iaden Gains won their first district title, defeating Thurston's Hunter Reed and Peyton Reed, 6-3, 6-2.

Gains competed as a singles player in the 5A state tournament last year and in doubles his sophomore year.

Springfield sophomore Rikuya Kasai won his first district title, defeating teammate Finn San Filippo, 7-5, 6-3.

Marist girls win big at districts

Marist freshman Whitney Hedden won her first district title, defeating Philomath's Bailey Bell, 6-3, 6-4.

Hedden will have a chance to face state runner-up Raegan Farm of North Bend in the 4A/3A/2A/1A girls' semifinals.

Marist doubles partners and sophomores Phoenie Larson and Stella Larson won their second district title, defeating teammates Haley Ross and Talia Tyner, 6-2, 6-2.

Other Eugene-area players competing in the state tennis tournaments

Singles (girls)

Sheldon (6A): Alyssa Piquette, sophomore

South Eugene (6A): Rosalyn Cho, sophomore

South Eugene (6A): Ellie Park, freshman

Thurston (5A): Scout Martin, senior

Churchill (5A): McKenzie Larsen, junior

Doubles (girls)

South Eugene (6A): Mia Majors, junior, and junior Alina Raiskin

Thurston (5A): Brooke Gallagher, senior, and senior Sydney Landreth

North Eugene (5A): Madelyn Bloomfeldt, junior, and junior Ava Burnett

Churchill (5A): Cecilia Gonenne, junior, and senior Nicolette Baker

Marist (4A/3A/2A/1A): Christina Nguyen, senior, and sophomore Taylor Murphy

Marist (4A/3A/2A/1A): Haley Ross, senior, and freshman Talia Tyner

Singles (boys)

Churchill (5A): Sho-un Tanaka, senior

Marist (4A/3A/2A/1A): Alexander Ricketts, sophomore

Marist (4A/3A/2A/1A): Sam McLoughlin, junior

Doubles (boys)

Thurston (5A): Conner Marchant, senior, and senior Easton Roberson

Churchill (5A): Bennet Krupka, senior, and senior Grayson Kassube

Marist (4A/3A/2A/1A): Cohen Aguero, junior, and sophomore Eli Mildren

Marist (4A/3A/2A/1A): Asher Pellegrini, senior, and freshman Griffen Scoble

Marist (4A/3A/2A/1A): Burkeley Knight-Sheen, junior, and junior Will Barsotti

Edith Noriega is a sports reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at ENoriega@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Noriega_Edith.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: OSAA state tennis tournament: Eugene-area players to watch