Girls Tennis: Shorewood Wins First District Title Since 2007

Mackenzie Bang added to her remarkable season, taking the singles title at the 3A District 1 girls tennis tournament and doubles pair Francesca O'Malley and Daniella Brengelmann finished second to lead Shorewood to the team district title.

Both Bang and the doubles pair qualified for the 3A state tournament which will take place in the Tri-Cities May 26-27.

Bang defeated Meera Limaye of Shorecrest 6-1, 6-2 in the singles final to take home her first district championship and will enter the state tournament as the number-one seed out of the district.

"I'm not playing tennis in college, so I wanted to do that going out of high school," Bang said of winning the district tournament.

The win ran Bang's record one the season to 23-1, with her only loss coming in a match she was forced to retire from due to illness. The senior is a four-time state qualifier and will be looking for her first top-ten finish at state.

"Right now she's playing the best she's ever played," Shorewood head coach Arnie Moreno said. "She's really stepped it up, she's playing very under control."

Sophomore O'Malley and freshman Brengelmann qualified for state after winning three consecutive matches on the second day of the tournament. The pair lost its second match on day one, putting them in the difficult position of playing roughly five straight hours of tennis in order to advance. O'Malley and Brengelmann defeated  Monica Gillie and Sarah Desautels from Glacier Peak 6-1, 6-4 in the consolation bracket championship.

"They just started playing the way they knew they could," Moreno said of their wins.

The state tournament begins May 26 at Kamiakin High School and the Tri-City Court Club in the Tri-Cities.