Javyn Han was on his way towards a sweep. Without doubles partner Bryce Kuykendall, the W.F. West High School senior played at No. 1 singles on Friday afternoon.
He trounced Centralia’s Jonah Lowe 6-1 in the opening set. Things were much different in the second.
Lowe jumped out to leads of 4-1 then 5-2, aiming to take the four-time state qualifier to the brink.
“He didn’t need to make me sweat,” Bearcats head coach Megan Wellander said. “He’s going to pull it off.”
Han responded emphatically with five straight games won to claim a 6-1, 7-5 victory and allow W.F. West to win the dual 4-2 over Centralia in the opening Swamp Cup contest of the 2024-25 athletic calendar.
It swept all three singles flights and the No. 3 doubles duo of Jonah Adams and Adam White dominated their way to a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
Han’s was the most dramatic.
The right-hander had a few unforced errors and backed himself into a corner. Somehow, someway, he dug out of it. Lowe was close to squaring the match at one set apiece, but Han turned the chances away.
“He realized he didn’t want to play a third set,” Wellander said. “I trust him.”
Tigers head coach Keith Hopkins believes that type of match will set up Lowe for the future.
“He settled down, got into a groove,” Hopkins said. “To see him bounce back from a first set loss, very impressive. Fuel for the fire and make you hungry for more. We learn through adversity and challenge.”
W.F. West’s Will Cummings and Braden Newman lost eight total games at Nos. 2 and 3 singles to cruise to victory.
Heading into Wednesday’s match versus Shelton, the Bearcats sit at 2-0 in the Evergreen Conference. After the Highclimbers contest, their next three duals are on the road.
“We’re coming together as a team,” Wellander said. “We (have) to earn everything. I think we have stronger players than I thought we did. With the more wins under our belt, the more confidence we get. We’re heading (in that) direction.”
Centralia’s brother tandems of Jacoby and Zander Corwin plus Jordan and Kadin Yueng picked up victories at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles. The Corwin’s won 6-0, 6-0 while the Yueng’s battled to a 7-5, 6-4 verdict.
The Tigers will return to the court on Tuesday at home versus Tumwater.
“Just good to get out and have competition,” Hopkins said. “It is a good cross-town rivalry and looking forward to getting back next time.”
