EUGENE – La Grande senior Teresa Kiemnec and sophomore Kevin Mollerstrom remained alive after the first day of the OSAA/U.S. Bank/Les Schwab Tires 3A/2A/1A Tennis State Championships at the Eugene Swim and Tennis Club.

Both Kiemnec and Mollerstrom were in consolation brackets and were to play today in the semifinals. Action began at 8:30 a.m.

Kiemnec opened Friday with a 2-6, 0-6 loss to Samantha Taylor of Oregon Episcopal School. In a match-up of players who met in the district finals, Kiemnec slipped by Katja Knocke of Condon, 8-6, in a loser-out match.

In this morning’s consolation semifinals, Kiemnec was to face a familiar foe, Kayce Bass of Baker. They have played matches to three sets during the season, according to La Grande coach Mike Schireman.

Mollerstrom fell to No. 1 seeded senior Andrew Oseran of Catlin Gabel in his first match Friday, 0-6, 1-6.

"He played the guy fairly tough," Schireman said.

In the consolation bracket, Mollerstrom stayed alive with an 8-6 victory over Leonard Rouston of Umatilla.

La Grande’s No. 1 boys’ singles player this season, senior Brenden Marshall, suffered losses in his first two state tourney matches. Jack Ho of Baker posted a 6-0, 6-4 win over Marshall, who was eliminated by Austin Gehrke of Stanfield, 9-7. Marshall beat Gehrke in the district semifinals last week.

The Tiger girls’ top doubles team of seniors Jenn Hubbard and Kathryn Ely won their first match, edging Emily and Erin Iskra of Junction City, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.

"The first set they played well, they served well," Schireman said. "They (the Iskras) got on to that and were starting to return and Hubbard and Ely didn’t have an answer."

In the quarterfinals, Hubbard and Ely lost to Marla Wiser and Erica Moore of Riverside, 6-3, 2-6, 1-6. It was their first meeting of the season with the RHS pair.

"They couldn’t get any kind of momentum going," Schireman said of Hubbard and Ely.

The Orton brothers, senior Keaton and sophomore Logan, nearly knocked off the No. 4 seeded boys’ doubles team in their opener, according to Schireman. But Cody Cromwell and Forrest Hogue of North Bend escaped with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win.

"They (the Ortons) were about two overheads from beating those guys," Schireman said. "They were real competitive."

In the consolation semis, the Ortons lost to Michael Palomino and David White of Umatilla, 4-8. The Ortons had beaten the Viking duo twice this season.

In girls’ doubles, LHS juniors Lisa Sinner and Lindsay Waldrop lost to Emily Taylor and Molly Wilcox of Catlin Gabel, 3-6, 0-6.

"They were competitive," Schireman said of Sinner and Waldrop, the third seed from district.

Christie Linford and Jenna McClain of Ontario eliminated Sinner and Waldrop, 8-3.

– Joe Sova