3A girls tennis: Championship matches set as D’Evelyn clinches team title

COLORADO SPRINGS – D’Evelyn senior Grace Li and St. Mary’s senior Ellie Hartman had the exact same goal a year ago that they do now. And for the second straight time, they’ll have to battle each other to achieve that goal.

They met in the semifinals of the Class 3A girls tennis tournament a year ago and it was Li who came away with the 6-2, 6-2 win to advance to the championship match. She lost to Colorado Academy’s Anna Jordaan but is getting another crack at claiming a No. 1 singles state title. And she’ll have to get through Hartman to do it.

Both players battled their way through three-set matches in the semis. Li beat St. Mary’s Academy freshman Ellie White 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 and Hartman battled back to top Dawson senior Lila Travis 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

“I was on the same court and there were some similarities as there were last year (in the semifinals),” Hartman said. “I’ve worked hard this last year; really worked on my forehand and my backhand and worked hard just to have this opportunity.”

Both players rolled through their first and second-round matches on Thursday before running into a little bit of adversity in the semifinals.

Although they each battled through their challenges neither was stunned that coming into Friday, things were going to get more difficult on the court.

“I’ve seen her play before, actually,” Li said about White. “I’ve seen her play against Lila, who was on the court next to us, and she’s an unbelievable player. And a freshman. New talents are kind of scary. But it was a fun match, and she did great.”

The match between Li and White was the last semifinal match to finish. Li was greeted by her teammates at the fence who had formed a victory tunnel in celebration. They also acknowledged White for her effort in the match.

By the time the high-fives were given, the Jags had amassed enough points to claim the 3A title. It was something that had been on their mind at the beginning of the day, but they realized how important it was to just go out and take care of their own business and let the points fall as they may. The Jags ended the day with a perfect 77 points, well out of reach of any other team in the field.

“It was in my head in our first set,” Mariah Dean said of her No. 4 doubles semifinal match. “By the second set, I realized that we just had to forget about all the craziness and just focus on the match.”

It’s that mentality that will put the team championship trophy into the Jags’ hands on Saturday. Perhaps the biggest advantage of clinching it before semifinals ended is it allows each position to focus on their own task rather than stressing about what winning and losing might mean for the team as a whole.

“One match at a time,” Li said. “The (team) championship can do its thing but for us, it’s just about beating the girls in front us.”

D’Evelyn advanced all seven positions to championship matches. Those matches will be underway at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs.