The 3A District tournament games scheduled for Thursday had been set for Sedro-Woolley’s Janicki Fields.

The double-header begins with another loser-out game featuring Meadowdale versus Glacier Peak at 4 p.m. The winners of the two games will face each other Saturday in Sedro-Woolley at 11:00 a.m. A berth to the state tournament is still up for grabs for the four Wesco teams.

Braden-Armstrong and Bouche defeated Haley Monson and Janie Uppinghouse of Shorecrest High School 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 to land the last spot from WIAA District 1 to the state tournament.

Earlier in the day Braden-Armstrong and Bouche lost the district championship match to Francesca O’Malley and Daniella Brengelmann of Shorewood High School 4-6, 7-6, 7-5. By winning the district title, O’Malley-Brengelmann are also heading to the state tournament.

The teams of Braden-Bouche and O’Malley-Brengelmann have developed quite a rivalry this postseason with close, tense matches against each other. While the Shorewood pair came out on top in Wednesday’s district championships, Braden-Bouche had the upper hand the week before at the Sub-District tournament when the MTHS pair squeaked by O’Malley-Brengelmann 7-6 (7-5 tiebreaker), 7-5.

Braden-Bouche are the second team from Mountlake Terrace to qualify for a state tournament this spring. The MTHS baseball team begins state tournament play this Saturday in Mount Vernon at 1 p.m. against Columbia River (Vancouver) High School. If the Hawks win, they play the winner of Mountain View (Vancouver)-Bishop Blanchet game at approximately 4 p.m.

The Hawks can still qualify for the state tournament later this month, but they must win three games, starting with a Thursday match-up with Shorecrest. Game time is 4 p.m. at Janicki Fields in Sedro Woolley.

If the Hawks beat Shorecrest, they play again on Saturday at 11 a.m. against the winner of the Meadowdale-Glacier Peak game. With a victory, MTHS would play one more time Saturday afternoon for the last spot in the state tournament.

The top two ranked teams in the tournament, Everett and Sedro-Woolley, meet for the district championship Saturday at 11 a.m.

The Neil Simon comedy is adapted from a series of short stories written by Russian Anton Chekhov in the late 1800s. MTHS students play a wide array of characters dealing with suffering, tragedy and absurdities. The play portrays the author’s assertion that if one can see the humor in a mad world, life becomes bearable.

The Hawks split their two games with Lynnwood during the regular season, winning 5-1 on April 10, then losing to the Royals 5-3 on May 4.

The Hawks are part of a district field loaded with top teams; Sedro-Woolley, a potential second-round matchup for MTHS, has a record of 18-1 and is ranked #5 in the state. The state’s sixth-ranked team, the Everett Seagulls (19-1) is also in the competition.

The top two teams from the district tournament advance to state, scheduled for May 25-26 in Lacey.

After each team plays two games on Tuesday, the double-elimination tournament continues on Thursday with two loser-out games at 4 p.m. Games pick up again on Saturday, including the championship game scheduled for 11 a.m. All games will be played Janicki Fields, 1155 Cook Road, Sedro-Woolley. Admission is $6 for adults and students without an ASB card; $4 for students with an ASB card, children and senior 62 and older.

Nicole Bouche and Gllian Braden-Armstrong with the Wesco tournament championship bracket documenting last week's win.

The doubles team practicing for this week's district tournament.

Story and photos by Doug Petrowski

Mountlake Terrace High School’s freshman/senior duo of Nicole Bouche and Gillian Braden-Armstrong won the Wesco/Sub-District 3A girls tennis doubles championship last week, and this week will compete in the 3A District meet Tuesday at Glacier Peak High School;

MTHS girls tennis coach Alberto Ramirez said there was a simple reason why he paired Bouche, who has been playing competitively for just two years, and Braden-Armstrong, who has been playing since age 7: “Because they are my two best players.”

The girls are confident after their Wesco/Sub-District win and are looking forward to their next challenge at districts. “We’re seeded No. 1, so the odds are in our favor,” Braden-Armstrong said.

The success of Braden-Armstrong and Bouche demonstrates the ever-improving girls tennis team at Mountlake Terrace. The squad finished the 2012 season with a record of 8-8 after going winless in 2011. Coach Ramirez attributes the improved record to stability in the program that hasn’t been there previously.

“Before I came there really wasn’t any continuity with the team,” Ramirez said, noting that coaches would stay for only a year or two at a time. Ramirez has coached the team for five seasons and is expected back next year.

But no one is thinking about next year yet; Coach Ramirez and his doubles team have their sights set on districts this week, with the goal of making the state tournament in Kennewick May 25-26.  The top two doubles teams coming out of the district meet qualify for state.

Bouche and Broden-Armstrong play their first match at noon Tuesday, and the 3A tournament runs through Wednesday. Glacier Peak High School is located at 7401-144th Place SE in Snohomish.

The win gave Mountlake Terrace a berth in the state baseball tournament; they will play next at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 19 at Skagit Valley College against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.

Support the Mountlake Terrace High School baseball team when they meet Mount Vernon for the district championship at 2 p.m. Saturday at Everett Memorial Stadium. The winner of the game gets an automatic berth to the state playoffs starting next weekend.

If MTHS loses Saturday’s game, they will play the winner of the Ferndale-Glacier Peak game for the final berth in the state tournament.