YAKIMA – Soap Lake Eagles tennis player Xavier Ewing took third in the 1B/2B state tournament after placing second in the district tournament. Ewing also earned the title of boys tennis player of the year following the state tournament. 

“I was a bit disappointed, but I still managed to do what I wanted to do,” said Ewing. “I did a lot better this year.” 

Ewing started the tournament against Gavin Blank from Liberty Bell, whom he had played five times over the course of the season. He would go on to win this match 6-3, 6-0, moving him into the semifinals against St. George’s Robert DeForest. 

Starting off the first set, Ewing said he was feeling very confident and was playing a good set, which he ended up winning 6-3. 

“In the second set, he just changed his whole attitude,” said Ewing. 

Ewing said the change in the pace of the game had gotten to him, and he ended up losing that second set 2-6 and putting the two players into a third set. The final set came close, but resulted in a 6-7 loss for Ewing. 

“I took it pretty rough,” he said. 

The next day he decided to go in with a new mindset as he readied to make his push toward the third-place slot. 

“I was thinking, ‘If I don’t change how I’m acting, I won’t place,’ and I knew that was my ultimate goal,” said Ewing. 

His first match on the second day of the tournament was against Liberty Bell’s Levin Lott. Ewing said he began to adapt to the way his opponent played throughout the game and eventually got himself back in the groove to win 6-0, 6-3 and move on to the third-place match. 

“I was playing really loose,” he said. “I didn’t really mind if I lost a point and I think that helped.” 

The third-place match of the tournament placed Ewing against Blank once again. This final match was a hard-fought yet more lighthearted match between the two players, where Ewing came out on top with a 6-2, 6-3 victory to earn third place in the tournament. 

Despite ending the season off on a victory, Ewing said he was still disappointed in not placing higher. The player who ended up taking first in the tournament was someone whom he defeated in the league tournament. 

“I can understand why he was disappointed, but I’m incredibly proud that he came back the next day and took care of business,” said Eagles tennis coach Lee Leavell. “He could have very well just called it quits after that, but he didn’t because he had a goal to meet, and he went out there and got it.” 

Now that the Spring season is over, Ewing has begun setting his goals for next year, with the first goal in his mind to become number one in the state. In the offseason, he said he will continue to play tennis as much as possible and hone his skills. 

“More than anything, I hope the sting of that loss motivates him for next year so that he can come out and make the finals and hopefully have a chance at getting a title,” said Leavell. 

Ewing said he appreciated the friends and family who came out to watch his matches at the state tournament and have supported him along the way this season. Around 12 people travelled from Soap Lake to Yakima just to watch him play in the state tournament. 

“I thank everyone who came to watch me because there were so many more people than I thought,” said Ewing.

Quarterfinals 

Team:         Player        Set 1    Set 2    Set 3 

SPLK:         Ewing         6    6    x 

LTBL:         Blank        3    0    x 

Semifinals 

SPLK:         Ewing         6    3    6 

SGRG:     DeForest     3    6    7 

Consolation Semifinals 

SPLK:         Ewing        6    6    x 

LTBL:         Lott        0    3    x 

Third Place Match 

SPLK:        Ewing        6    6    x 

LTBL:         Blank        2    3    x 

    Xavier Ewing received his medal for taking third place in the state tournament. Ewing said it was a hard-fought tournament where he had to learn to fully adapt as each match progressed.
  

    Soap Lake tennis coaches Clarissa Larsen and Lee Leavell stand with Xavier Ewing at the state tournament. Leavell said he was very proud of Ewing’s performance.