East Jefferson Rivals tennis player Reid Martin continues to excel in Nisqually League #1 singles competition.

On Thursday, Oct. 19, the Chimacum senior defeated Eli Kraft of Klahowya in a 7-point tiebreaker. In building his 6-1 season record, Martin has blown out most opponents, but besting Kraft proved more difficult.

Martin described Kraft as a tough opponent because “he gets everything back over the net and doesn’t miss.” Beating Kraft “meant a lot,” Martin said. “That was an important win for seeding in the league tournament. I lost to that guy previously.” Kraft defeated Martin on October 4 in Klahowya.

Having evened the series against Kraft, Martin will compete in the Nisqually League tournament on October 26-27 at the University of Puget Sound.

Describing his teammates, Martin said, “We only have four returning players on a team of 15. Almost everyone’s a rookie. Our first-year players are able to compete with everyone else, which is unusual and impressive. We had one team win against Annie Wright.”

East Jefferson’s coach is Keith Johnson, Martin’s grandfather. Johnson has led the Rivals for three years, but has many decades of experience coaching the sport. “He thinks we’re his 41st tennis team,” Martin said, “but my grandma says we’re his 46th and his last one.”