Community Corner
WHIZ KIDS: Lake Washington High Doubles Team Reaches KingCo Finals
The Kangs' doubles pairing of Jessica Lund and Kelly Watanabe made their last season together a memorable one.
Name, age: Jessica Lund, 16, and Kelly Watanabe, 18.
School and Neighborhood: Both attend . Jess is a junior who lives in Totem Lake, while Kelly is a senior who lives in the Highlands.
Accomplishments: Talented tennis players, the pair reached the KingCo finals in doubles before falling to Mercer Island 6-1, 6-2. The Lake Washington High School girl’s tennis team also finished second in league play.
“We’re really proud of them because they have put in a lot of work,” said Laura Lund, Jess’ mother.
The pair’s run through the tournament included a big win over past nemesis Bellevue.
Key to awesomeness: Jess and Kelly both credit their teammates with helping them improve during the season. Getting to play against a variety of players helped raise their game, said Jess.
Jess also credited the team’s coaching staff. “They worked so hard with us,” she said.
Jess said the pair also got an amazing amount of support from friends and family. She finished the regular season with a record of 9-2 in singles play, before moving on to doubles in the post season. The area of her game she worked most on was net play – volleys, footwork – and being more aggressive.
“I really worked hard on that,” said Jess.
Kelly, who was playing her last season for Lake Washington, couldn’t have been happier with the season they had.
“Our team really worked hard this season,” said Kelly.
Her fondest memories of her senior year include having lots of fun and bonding as a team with her fellow players, which made the team’s overall success even more meaningful.
“It’s been an amazing season,” she said.
One of the high points for Jess was beating a rival player in the tournament that she had lost to earlier in the year.
“I was so jazzed,” she said.
Looking to the future, Kelly will be attending Linfield College in Oregon, where she will continue to play tennis.
“The campus really drew me in,” said Kelly. “I’m really excited to play for them next year.”
Jess is looking forward to having a fun and memorable senior year at Lake Washington. “I just want to be the best teammate I can.”