MARYSVILLE — Marysville-Pilchuck senior tennis player Jacob Bansberg has the brains and skills to flourish in tennis.

And playing his last year as a Tomahawk, Bansberg is mastering his craft.

“I’ve improved my consistency in hitting with more power,” Bansberg said. He is currently the No. 1 singles for M-P.

He started tennis about seven years ago taking lessons as encouraged by his mother.

He enjoyed it and eventually walked on to M-P’s tennis team as a sophomore.

“I have only been here for three years, but I have had the privilege of coaching him for each one,” Marysville-Pilchuck head tennis coach Evan Shaw said. “He’s a great kid that loves tennis.”

He’s athletic and stands six-foot-four, but Shaw said his generalship and tactics on the court are his most prominent attributes.

“I think he is different because he can dictate the game and knows how to have his opponent make mistakes,” Shaw said. “He keeps the ball in play.”

Shaw anticipates a strong performance from Bansberg at regionals.

“I think he is going to get a fairly decent seed as he enters districts,” Shaw said. “He will see some great opponents.”

MARYSVILLE — Marysville Getchell senior and tennis player Tristan Hasseler said this is his year to shine.

“Last year was tough,” he said. “I played a lot of tough opponents.”

But Hasseler aims to put together what he has learned to the test.

“I feel like this year I’m going to put all four years of what I have learned to play,” he said. “I want to reach my full potential.”

He is the No. 1 singles player with a record of 7-and-7.

Besides the competitive nature of the sport, Hasseler enjoys the character-building aspect of tennis.

“It teaches you a lot of life lessons,” he said. “A lot of things learned on the court can be applied to life.”

Those things include keeping calm in stressful situations.

“It pushes myself as a person more than an athlete,” he said.

He started playing tennis when he was 10, but didn’t consider it his sport until high school. Hasseler’s older sister, Beth, got him into the sport when she played for Marysville-Pilchuck.

His aggressive style and pressuring the net is what he does best, Hasseler said.

“He plays tennis the closest to how I play,” said his coach, Andrew Christopher. “The way he wants to be aggressive is fun to coach.”

Hasseler is still applying for colleges but wants to keep up tennis. He has heard back from Montana State University.

“I’d like to keep playing; maybe not on a college team, but I’d like to keep playing,” he said.

ARLINGTON — Arlington senior Jesse Vaughan wants to make it past regionals and into districts in his final year.

“I want to go as far as I can,” he said.

Vaughan played tennis, football and cross country in his freshman year. He ultimately chose tennis as his sport of focus.

“It’s fun. I like the team camaraderie, and everyone gets along,” Vaughan said.

He is currently the No. 1 doubles with teammate Connor Ghirardo with a 9-4 record.

“We’re both consistent, and we don’t get frustrated with each other,” he said.

His coach, Sean Cunningham, said Vaughan and Ghirardo have a shot at advancing to districts if not winning the regional title.

“They complement each other very well and have a great ground game,” he said. “They are not complete underdogs.”

Vaughan played on the varsity team for the first time last season.

“I wasn’t too good,” he said. “I only won one match in regionals.”

He described his junior year as a growing year, where he was also taking additional lessons.

Vaughan prepared for this season by running through drills with his teammates.

“He’s a solid kid and has worked really hard,” Cunningham said. “He’s really enjoyed this year.”

So far he is applying to schools like University of Washington and Utah State University and wants to continue tennis.

“If possible, I would like to join a college or club team,” he said. “I definitely still want to play with friends.”