SPANAWAY - West Central District Class 3A tennis action proved to be a blessing for Highline athletes at the Sprinker Recreation Center on May 17.

John F. Kennedy Catholic High School provided most of the local headlines with its entrants in boys doubles and boys singles.

Jason Lim and Frazier Chan joined forces to capture second place in the doubles with a 6-4, 6-1, semifinal victory against Trevor Thompson and Trevor Larson of Mount Rainier before dropping a three-set, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, match to North Thurston's Matt Huynh and David Schuster in the title match. The Lancers rallied magnificently in the second set only to lose steam and have the Rams jump to a 3-0 lead in the third set.

"Frazier is a big time net guy," said Lim. "We call him 'Great Balls of Chan'. Everything depends upon our consistency. Frazier pumps us up. Our family and friends pump us up."

Chan observed matters from a different perspective.

"We try to keep it up while fighting until we fall," he stated. "They mentally beat us in the finals."

Lancer Connor Thorp traversed the deadly route through the consolation round of singles before ousting Nick Allen of Auburn Mountainview, 6-4, 6-4, for a state berth. In the Saturday consolation round finals, Thorp knocked off Alex Chou of Columbia River, 6-1, 6-3, to earn the No. 4 seed.

"It was hot and hard to focus," admitted Thorp. "I tried to hit a kick serve that would rise in the hot air and then hit high with a top spin forehand."

From Mount Rainier, Thompson and Larson rallied back from the defeat at the hands of the Lancers to defeat Elliot Appel and Tam Nguyen, 6-1, 6-2, and claim the No. 3 seed.

In girls doubles, Maddie Guidos and Carly Henley of Highline earned a state spot with a 6-2, 6-3, quarterfinal win against Enumclaw's Anna Nelson and Rebecca Stevenson ahead of a 6-1, 6-1, dominance of Angie Wnek and Kelly Lank of Hazen for the No. 3 seed.

Evergreen's Tammy Do was another girls singles player who maneuvered her way through the perilous path of the consolation round.

With the seventh and final seed to state on the line, the Wolverine star rebounded from a first set loss to eliminate Melissa Nguyen of Hazen, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.

According to Evergreen coach Doris Burdin, Do put it deep and kept Nguyen away from the angles.