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The Hanford boys tennis team has a combined GPA of 3.89.
As a senior and one of the players carrying at 3.9 GPA, Jake Knox is smart enough to know when it's time to step aside.
Knox, who has been the Falcons' top player -- whether it be singles or doubles -- since he was a freshman, handed over the reins to the No. 1 singles slot to freshman Luke Thompson midway through the season, knowing Thompson was the better man for the job.
"He was better than me that day," Knox said of losing a challenge match to the wiry freshman. "I was planning on challenging him again, but then I got injured and Curtis (Lan) and I decided to team up for doubles for state. It's been good. It's prepared us for what we ended up doing."
The Hanford boys are the favorite at the CBBN 3A district tournament that will be played Saturday and Monday at Yakima Tennis Club. The finals of the tournament will be played Monday, with the top two advancing to 3A regionals.
"We don't want to count our chickens, but we did pretty well against them (Sunnyside and West Valley) in the regular season," said Hanford coach Jim Wilson.
Knox, who will play tennis and study engineering at University of Idaho in the fall, finished fourth at state in singles last year, was third in doubles with Lan as a sophomore, and qualified for state but went 0-2 as a freshman. This season, the team is served best with he and Lan playing No. 1 doubles, where they are 5-0 since teaming up.
"Jake is a really mature kid," Wilson said. "He thinks about the team. He's always been our best player, but he's never been a diva. There's no question we are a stronger team with this lineup."
Thompson, 15, has emerged from the shadows to post a 13-0 record this season, including a 7-5, 0-6, 6-4 victory over Richland's Troy Zuroske, the top seed in the CBBN 4A district tournament this weekend in Pasco.
"Luke beating Troy was a big part of us beating Richland," Wilson said. "He's a very smart kid, he knows what to do on the court and he doesn't get rattled. The kid had ice cubes in his veins when he pulled out that last set. He doesn't look physically imposing, but his timing is impeccable. He can really sneak up on you."
Thompson, whose forehand and serve have been his best assets this spring, was a seasoned player before he got to Hanford, playing in a variety of tournaments growing up.
"High school tennis has been different," he said. "I played a lot of tournaments before this, but this has been a nice change. It's been a good year and really fun, and beating Troy made it even better."
-- Kennewick freshmen Brock Schuh and John Hamilton stepped up with style when coach Ed Smith asked the doubles partners -- and Lions JV football squad teammates -- to split apart and defend the pride of the Lions in a CBBN season-ending matchup May 7 vs. Eisenhower.
And it was the debut performance in the singles bracket for both athletes.
At No. 3 singles, Schuh dropped his first set 6-4 but regrouped to win the next two over Kameron Torres, 7-6 (5), 6-1.
"He played like a veteran," Smith said of Schuh in an e-mail.
Smith wrote also that Hamilton was inspired by Schuh's performance and "stormed to a straight-set 6-3, 6-1" victory over Ike's Gabe Martinez in the No. 4 singles event.
-- Rocky Morrow contributed to this report.
