Marist boys tennis win singles, doubles and team state titles at 4A/3A/2A/1A championships
CORVALLIS — It was an afternoon of second victories and second chances for the Marist boys tennis program.
Senior doubles partners Peyton Tyner and Andrew Forsyth defeated Lucas Olander and Richard Li of Oregon Episcopal in a grueling three-set victory (6-4, 2-6, 6-4) to win the 4A/3A/2A/1A boys tennis state championship title at Oregon State University's Tennis Complex on Saturday afternoon.
The Marist boys and girls teams also won the 4A/3A/2A/1A team titles.
The feat marked the second straight title for Tyner and first for Forsyth, who had competed as a singles player the last three years.
After losing in the second set, Marist bounced back to take an early 4-2 lead in the third.
"I was really focused on trying to put the balls away at the net," Forsyth said of the third set.
Oregon Episcopal trailed 5-4, but the duo made up for it on strong returns to secure the victory.
"It's very exciting for all of us," Tyner said of the win. "We played a long hard road trip and then we just grinded it out this whole year."
About 20 minutes earlier, Marist sophomore EJ Roedl handled Zareh Gonzalvo of Catlin Gabel, 6-1, 6-2, to win his first singles state title.
Roedl felt motivated after his second-place finish at last year's state tournament.
"I worked really hard in the offseason to get a lot better, and I think it paid off," he said.
Roedl said part that offseason regimen involved "a lot of serves."
"Got my serve percentage a lot better and hitting a little harder," Roedl said.
Elsewhere, Marist doubles partners and juniors Burkeley Knight-Sheen and Will Barsotti placed fourth, falling 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 to Nathan Chen and Riley Nordhoff of Catlin Gabel.
Marist tennis sweeps team titles
The Marist boys tennis program won back-to-back team titles with 36.5 total points.
Oregon Episcopal placed second with 24 total points, while Catlin Gabel came in third with 19 points.
"We can really define our season this year by just the grit of this team," Marist head coach Wade Judy said.
The Marist girls tennis program won the team title with 20.5 total points, marking its first since 2019.
North Bend, Oregon Episcopal, St. Mary's and Medford finished in a four-way tie for second place with 10 total points. Vale placed third with eight points.
"I think there's so much potential for them in the next years," Marist assistant girls coach Ellie Lewis said. "We have a young team, and we have some really talented seniors that we're sad to see go but, they led our team in such a great way."
Marist doubles partners and sophomores Phoenie Larson and Stella Larson placed third, defeating teammates Haley Ross, a senior, and Talia Tyner, a freshman, 7-5, 6-3, in the 4A/3A/2A/1A girls doubles state championships.
Marist freshman Whitney Hedden placed third in singles, defeating senior Bailey Bell of Philomath, 6-2, 6-2.
Sheldon's Kearney sisters are 6A doubles state runners-up for second season
The Sheldon girls team placed fourth with 10 points in 6A.
Sheldon doubles partners and sisters Emerson Kearney, a senior, and Hayden Kearney, a sophomore, finished as state runner-up for the second straight year, falling to Arushi Arora and Thara Rao of Mountainside, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the 6A girls doubles state championships.
Churchill boys placed sixth with 2.5 points in 5A.
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: Marist Catholic boys and girls win 4A/3A/2A/1A tennis state titles
