Evergreen Tennis sends junior team to nationals

A Camas-based tennis team has been invited to play in a national tournament.

This past summer, a group of high school tennis players competed together in the Junior Team Tennis 18-and-under advanced division at Evergreen Tennis in Camas.

The team won the first place title in the local area with a 27-3 record and advanced to the championship round at the sectional tournament in Kirkland, Washington.

Due to their success in the Pacific Northwest Region, the United States Tennis Association offered the team a wild card birth to the JTT National Tournament in South Carolina, Oct. 20 through 23.

The six Evergreen Junior Team Tennis players are Wilson Ho, Samantha Merrill, Grace Maxey, Bjorn Morfin, Sydney Wallace and Brian Wang Matt Houser, a USPTA Elite Pro at Evergreen Tennis, coaches the team.

“It’s a chance for them to help put Evergreen Tennis on the map because they are here quite a bit, they work hard and they invest a lot of their time and energy into this place,” Houser said. “This is a very rare and unique opportunity, and they are going to remember it for the rest of thier lives.”

According to Merrill, being part of the Evergreen Junior Team Tennis has been an incredible experience that has improved her tennis game and her self-confidence.

“Throughout my 11 years of playing, interning and competing in tennis, this team has definitely been the best experience yet,” she said. “Being on this team has taught me many things I would have been unable to learn in another environment. This team has taught me many qualities such as determination, confidence and drive.”

To help pay the cost of traveling to nationals, a GoFundMe account has been created at www.gofundme.com/evergreentennisjtt.

Wang looks forward to the opportunity to play tennis with his friends on a national stage.

“I feel an extreme sense of pride when I know that I’m representing Evergreen Tennis,” he said. “One of the most important things to me about the team are the players. After we were given the opportunity to play at nationals, I was ecstatic to know that I would be able to play with my friends one more time.”

For more information, call Evergreen Tennis at 557-7230 or visit www.evergreentennis.net.