Marathon match highlights first day of 5A girls tennis state tournament

Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com

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DENVER — Nicole Garza must have felt like she’d run the Colfax Marathon rather than having played a tennis match.

The Rocky Mountain senior went toe-to-toe with Chaparral’s Anna Frazier for nearly four hours in Thursday’s opening round of the Class 5A girls state tennis tournament at Gates Tennis Center.

Garza overcame Frazier’s strong serves to prevail 7-6 (4), 6-7 (8), 6-4.

“I just said, ‘I am not going to play this, with two tiebreakers, to lose,’” Garza said of her mindset.

Frazier’s powerful service game kept Garza on her heels.

“I was started to get a little bit frustrated,” Garza said.

She has a plan when that happens.

“I’ve always just smiled (when frustrated), and when I smile, I laugh off my mistakes,” she said.

Immediately after the win, “I was like, ‘Oh man.’ I was so relieved,” she said as she iced her right ankle.

Garza suffered a broken ankle in last year’s conference semifinals and was unable to play at the state meet after qualifying the previous year as a sophomore. That made this year’s appearance just a little sweeter for her — and made her a little hungrier.

Garza got a little bit extra rest. After being told she would have a half-hour rest before her quarterfinal, rains drenched the Gates Tennis Center grounds, causing suspension of several first-round doubles matches as well as the quarterfinals.

First-round matches will resume at 8 a.m. Friday, followed immediately by the quarterfinals. Semifinals will get underway when the quarterfinals conclude.

Fossil Ridge and Arapahoe both entering Thursday’s first rounds of the Class 5A girls state tennis tournament with hopes of finally breaking Cherry Creek’s stranglehold on the team title.

It will be an uphill battle for both, but the SaberCats and Warriors are in position to unseat the 17-time defending team champions.

Fossil Ridge advanced two of its three singles qualifiers and its three qualifying doubles teams. Arapahoe did the same but still has one doubles match in progress.

Cherry Creek still leads the team race, however, with seven points. Arapahoe, Fossil Ridge and Denver East are all tied for second with five points.

Results

• Individual draws

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