Langley's Li, Shames reach state final
By Dave Buschenfeldt
When the 2008 season began, Langley girls tennis coach Sara Vincent did not have a good feeling about her doubles pairing of junior Linden Li and senior Alyssa Shames. The tandem lost three matches early on and seemed to lack the communication necessary to be a successful duo."They started off slow," Vincent said. "They weren't into it. They couldn't keep each other up and couldn't pull matches together."
Something seemed to click midway through the season for Li and Shames, and they won the Northern Region doubles title before advancing all the way to Saturday's state final, where they fell to Mills Godwin's Katie Blow and Nicole Parker, 6-3, 6-4.
"I thought it would be a rough year, but they proved me wrong," Vincent said.
This was the second year of playing together for Li and Shames, who reached the state tournament last year as well, but lost in the first round.
"This year, they just worked better together than last year," Vincent said. "Their mental game was stronger. They supported each other. We're proud of them."
Losing to Blow and Parker was nothing for Li and Shames (15-3) to be ashamed of. The Mills Godwin duo finished the season undefeated, while Blow also won the state singles title and Mills Godwin won the team title.
"Only two teams make it that far," Vincent said. "They should be proud of their efforts."
Shames will attend Boston University next year, where she hopes to play on the club tennis team, while Li will return to Langley in search of a new doubles partner. Vincent said there are some incoming freshmen who may fill the spot left vacant by Shames, but only time will tell.