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NK doubles team pulls off comeback for the ages to win state title

Published 1:30 am Sunday, May 24, 2026

By Luke Caputo Kitsap News Group

Luke Caputo/Kitsap News Group photos NK Vikings Grady DeVries (left) and Rocco Targett (right) holding the state champs sign after winning their title match in boys doubles May 23 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center at the University of Washington in Seattle.
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Luke Caputo/Kitsap News Group photos

NK Vikings Grady DeVries (left) and Rocco Targett (right) holding the state champs sign after winning their title match in boys doubles May 23 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Luke Caputo/Kitsap News Group photos NK Vikings Grady DeVries (left) and Rocco Targett (right) holding the state champs sign after winning their title match in boys doubles May 23 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Olympic Trojan Annabelle Waldman finished second in girls singles during the 2026 2A State Tennis Tournament May 23 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Bainbridge Spartans Abby Schnee and Elsa Drugge took third place in girls doubles during the 2026 2A State Tennis Tournament May 23 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center at the University of Washington in Seattle.

The North Kitsap duo of Grady DeVries and Rocco Targett dug deep to earn the 2A tennis boys doubles championship May 23 at the University of Washington’s Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle.

After winning the first set 6-2 and then dropping the second set 7-6 against Colton Hong and Adam Van Egdom of Anacortes in the title match, the Viking pair trailed 5-1 in the final third set, and it looked like it wasn’t meant to be for the doubles team that went undefeated all season. Instead, NK flipped the script and won the final six games of the set to claim the state championship.

It marks the Vikings’ second boys doubles championship in the last four years, matching Drake Jones and Josh Smith, who won it all in 2022. This season was the first time DeVries and Targett played as partners.

“We’ve always been buds,” Targett said. “I feel like, especially when we step on the tennis court, there’s never a shot we can’t make.”

“I had it in the back of my head that we were winning this year,” DeVries added.

NK coach Jay DeVries was not only proud as a coach, but as a father, seeing his son win a state championship.

“The comeback, and the battle, and the perseverance they had… they didn’t quit. I’m just so proud of them,” he said.

Other noteworthy performances

Olympic Trojan Annabelle Waldman placed second in the girls singles tournament, losing in the championship round 6-0, 6-0 to Halley Brook’s of Lynden. Jonah Pantig placed fifth in boys singles for the Trojans and the duo of Chelsea Barber and Audrey Murphy took eighth place in girls doubles for Olympic. The Trojans placed third as a team.

The Bainbridge duo of Abby Schnee and Elsa Drugge took third in girls doubles after reaching the semifinals, and the team of Teddy Kwan and George Vaughn placed fifth for the Spartans in boys doubles.

NK Viking Noelle Oberholtzer placed fifth in girls singles, beating Bremerton Knight Lucy Cao, who placed eighth.

In 3A, Kaylee Heys and May-Lin Zheng of Central Kitsap took eighth in girls doubles.

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