SOAP LAKE – Soap Lake Eagles tennis player Xavier Ewing placed second in the district tournament and will be advancing to the 1B/2B state tournament in Yakima this weekend. 

“I’ve had my ups and downs, but on the bright side, I’m making it to state,” said Ewing. 

The Eagles overall had a successful season, with the boys ending the regular season 8-2-1. Eagles head tennis coach Lee Leavell said Ewing had an impressive journey to the state tournament this season, starting in the league tournament. Ewing made it into the final match, where he faced Ben Rasmusson from Manson whom he had lost to previously in the season. 

“I was ready this time because I was practicing on the side,” said Ewing. 

Ewing said he had a good and close first set but ended up losing that one 4-6. In the second set, he knew he wanted to earn the league title, so he went in strong and won that set 6-3, putting both players into a full third set to decide the winner. 

“The third set was super intense,” he said. “I started off pretty strong and then Ben got a momentum boost.” 

The match became tied at 5-5, which put the players into a tiebreaker with both earning multiple match points. Ewing said, when combining all of the match points the final score ended up being 16-14 with Ewing coming out on top. 

“A tiebreak only goes to seven points, but you’ve got to win by two so they both saved a lot of match points,” said Leavell. 

Ewing's match against Rasmusson lasted just short of four hours long, said Leavell. Prior to this match, Ewing had just played another third-set match earlier in the day, meaning he had played around seven hours on the court that day. 

“I thought I was going to be really sore, but I wasn’t,” said Ewing. “Emotionally, it was a rollercoaster of emotions, I was one point away from winning, then I’d lose that and reset, then I was one point away from losing.” 

Going into districts, he was feeling very confident in his abilities, he said. Ewing had fought his way to the top of districts before he had to face Rasmusson again in the finals, where this time the Manson player came out on top for the district title, with Ewing earning second place, sending both players to the state championship tournament. 

Ewing said he is feeling good and ready to play in the state tournament this weekend. 

“I think having fun with it and having confidence will take me a long way,” he said. 

Ewing is also known for his abilities in cross country, but said he has found a lot more success in playing tennis. Ewing said he decided to join the tennis team in eighth grade when he was convinced by one of his friends and from there, that sparked his passion for the game and striving to be better while having fun. 

“He lives and breathes tennis, this is all he does all year round,” said Leavell. 

Ewing will be playing in the 1B/2B state tennis tournament at the Yakima Tennis Club with his first match against Gavin Blank from Liberty Bell starting Friday at 8 a.m. 

    Xavier Ewing stands with his coaches Lee Leavell, right, and Clarissa Larson, left, and some of his teammates as they celebrate him going to state.
  

    From a match earlier this season, Xavier Ewing is seen hitting the ball back toward his opponent. Ewing has dedicated most of his free time to playing tennis and improving his abilities.