Kentwood High’s Max Manthou ended Saturday what has been one of the greatest runs in prep tennis history. And he did it with an exclamation point.
In front of a throng of supporters at Tri-City Court Club in Kennewick, Manthou overpowered Kent Andreason of Skyview (Vancouver) 6-2, 6-3 to claim his fourth straight Class 4A state tennis title. The title wrapped up four years of perfection for the Kentwood senior, who closed out his prep career with an unblemished 76-0 overall record. Yet, the unbeaten record does not fully explain how untouchable Manthou has been. During that four-year run, only one player — Kentridge star Matt Overland — was able to take a single set off of Manthou.
This title was even sweeter than the previous three, Manthou said, because it came adorned with a team title, too.
Along with Manthou’s singles title, teammates Tucker Siegert and Alex Noyes came away with a fourth-place medal in doubles competition, helping Kentwood finish with 17 total points and thus finishing in a two-way tie with Wenatchee for the team crown.
“That team title came out of nowhere,” said Manthou, who will play at the University of Washington next year. “Tucker and Alex played really well at the district tournament and I thought then that we maybe had a chance (to win it all at state).”
The title helped Manthou become the first Class 4A singles player in state history to win four straight titles.
The most gratifying part for Manthou?
Being able to share the title with friends. In three previous trips to Kennewick, Manthou’s championship matches received sparse crowds in part due to the long trip. It was nearly a packed house this time.
“It was emotional. After it was over, I saw everyone who meant something to me at Kentwood,” noted Manthou, who was not only joined by his parents (Frank and Judy) and athletic director JoAnne Daughtry, but also several basketball teammates and a handful of teachers from the school. “It helped me put an exclamation point on everything.”
Kentridge’s Overland, who has been one of Manthou’s toughest opponents the last several years, took third after knocking off Gig Harbor’s Max Giganti 6-3, 6-3. Overland lost to Giganti a week earlier in the district tournament.
As good as Manthou and the Kentwood boys were on Friday and Saturday, the Conqueror girls were nearly as solid.
And, just like the boys’ tournament, the girls’ side had a distinctively Manthou feel to it.
Behind a strong third-place showing by doubles tandem Tess Manthou and Alyssa Nagai, the Conquerors rolled to second place in the team race, collecting 12 total points. Newport won the team title with 15 points.
Manthou and Nagai knocked off Chaeran Kim and Jenna Grillo of Mountainview 6-0, 7-6 to take the third-place medal.
“They played awesome,” said Kentwood coach Ingrid Bakke. “I can’t imagine it getting much better (between the boys and the girls). It was perfect.”
Kentwood’s Eliana Spero and Nikki Skinner, Kentwood’s No. 2 doubles team during the regular season, also posted a pair of victories, which played a vital role in helping the Conquerors take that second-place trophy.
“What was cool is that we all got medals and all came home happy,” said Tess Manthou.
• ALSO: Kentridge doubles team Sahil Diwan and Vincent Lin advanced to the state tournament and were eliminated in two matches. The Kentridge duo opened with a 6-3, 6-1 loss to Newport’s Zach Chen and Steven Miyauchi, and then fell to Troy Patterson and Nick Mandelis of Wenatchee, 6-2, 6-3.
