Lakeridge's Jessica Paulsen (right) and Victoria Babitskaya celebrate their doubles championship at the Three Rivers League district tennis tournament at Portland Tennis Center on Friday, May 16. (Miles Vance)

The Lions brought it singles.

The Pacers and Lakers stepped up in doubles.

In the end, the West Linn girls tennis team got a singles championship from freshman Leah Lup and a runner-up effort in singles by junior Sonya Drayton to set the pace at the Three Rivers League district tournament, held Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, May 14-16, at Portland Tennis Center.

“Our team is doing great this year. It’s going great,” Lup said. “It’s a different atmosphere playing high school tennis with the whole team cheering you on. It’s great.”

The Pacers, meanwhile, took two of the league’s four berths to state in doubles, while Lake Oswego secured one berth in singles and two in doubles. Next up, the Lions’, Pacers’ and Lakers’ qualifiers will play in the Class 6A state tournament, set for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 22-24, at the Babette Horenstein Tennis Center in Beaverton.

In singles, the second-seeded Lup made her first district tournament a keeper, winning five straight times (including a bye) to claim the TRL title, eventually knocking off top-seeded teammate Drayton 6-0, 6-4 in the final.

“Sonya is my best friend so it’s not easy to play her in the finals,” said Lup, who lost just four games in the tournament. “I knew she was going to come out super strong so I just had to be ready to play my best and I think that’s what I did today.”

For her part, Drayton was disappointed that she was unable to defend the TRL crown she won a year earlier, but hopeful that more greatness may still lie ahead.

“I had some really good matches in the earlier rounds and my level’s gotten a lot better since last year so I’m happy,” Drayton said. “I’ve had a month of just training and very (few) matches so I think I’m ready to play a tournament finally.”

In addition to their efforts, Tualatin senior Hana Yokoi finished third in singles after beating Lake Oswego junior Molly Eames 6-2, 6-2; both qualified for state.

In doubles, second-seeded Lakeridge seniors Jessica Paulsen and Victoria Babitskaya got it done big-time in Friday’s finale, rallying past Lake Oswego’s top-seeded seniors Rachel Khalili and Kate Eames 6-2, 6-2 in the final. Over the course of the tournament, Babitskaya and Paulsen won five straight times (including a bye) and didn’t lose a set.

“We played great today,” Babitskaya said. “The key to victory was staying calm and communicating with each other well during the match.”

“It’s really great to win districts again with another partner,” said Paulsen, who teamed with Mia Fitzgerald to win the TRL doubles crown a year ago. “Our team played great today. I am so proud of how we all played. Everyone stepped up today and played their best.”

Also headed to state in doubles are: Lakeridge’s fourth-seeded seniors Issy Smith and Grace Rodan, and LO’s third-seeded senior Kira Pihlstrom and junior Elise Schmidt; Smith and Rodan won the third-place match over Pihlstrom and Schmidt 6-4, 6-4.