Kerker sisters dominate at 4A district tournament

Sisters Hailey Kerker and Taryn Kerker already had accomplished a lot during their high school tennis careers entering their senior year at Camas.

Hailey Kerker won back-to-back 4A singles state titles before placing third at state last year.

Taryn Kerker won a state title in doubles with Fiona Zhou in 2023 before the pair had a runner-up finish last season.

But to cap their high school careers, the Kerker sisters wanted to do something different. So they paired up as a doubles team.

“I really wanted to play with my sister because this is our last year,” Hailey Kerker said. “And I wanted it to be special. Plus, I like playing with her.”

On Friday, May 9, the Kerker sisters began the run through the postseason by beating Camas teammates Avery Fisher and Greta Babarskaite 6-0, 6-1 to capture the 4A district doubles title at Club Green Meadows.

The Kerkers dropped only four games while sweeping to three victories in the tournament. Next up is the 4A bi-district tournament next Friday and Saturday in Kent.

“(We’re looking forward to) just playing together more and getting good matches in,” Taryn said.

Seniors earn 3A titles

It was senior day at the 3A girls tennis district tournament.

All three district champions were seniors, and all three seniors took very different paths to the titles on Saturday.

Elsa Bice is a soccer player by trade. She plans on playing for Clark College next year.

But freshman year, she decided to give tennis a try.

That paid off with her winning the 3A district singles title last year. On Saturday, the senior made it two in a row, beating Mountain View’s Sophia Andrushko 6-1, 6-4 for the title at Vancouver Tennis Center.

Lexi Frost of Mountain View also started out as a soccer player as a freshman who wanted to give tennis a try.

On Saturday, she captured her fourth consecutive district doubles title, teaming up with Addie Simonsmeier to beat Rylie and Taylor Nelson of Kelso 6-1, 6-0 in the Saturday’s final.

Simonsmeier was third different doubles partner that Frost played with during her four years at Mountain View.

“And (Simonsmeier) is one of the best friends. We’ve known each other for a while now … So honestly, it’s been an amazing experience.”

Simonsmeier was a singles player up until this year. She actually lost to Bice in the singles title match last year.

The top three finishers from Saturday’s tournament advanced to the bi-district tournament Wednesday and Thursday in Kent in an effort to qualify for the 3A state tournament, which will be held May 23-24 at Vancouver Tennis Center.