4A Girls Individual Tennis: Kent Denver’s Lila Moldenhauer Defends Singles Title
PUEBLO – Make it back-to-back Class 4A No. 1 singles championships for Lila Moldenhauer.
The Kent Denver junior’s latest state triumphant came when she ousted Erie’s Nanoha Nakamura 6-1, 6-2 Saturday at the Pueblo Tennis Center at the Pueblo Country Club.
“I’m just so happy,” Moldenhauer said moments after her victory. “I was in this position last year, so to be able to pull it out again is very exciting. This is really awesome. I love this tournament. High school tennis is a fun time of year for me.”
Saturday’s Class 4A state championship and third-place girls tennis matches were moved to the indoor Pueblo Tennis Center when Saturday morning rainfall made the City Park courts unplayable.
A year ago, Moldenhauer defeated Mullen senior Lexi Yost 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to claim her first state prep title.
The past three days at the state tournament Moldenhauer received guidance from an unexpected source.
“My older brother Jack (who recently) graduated from college, flew out from New York City, where he’s living, to come coach me,” Moldenhauer said. “Our game plan was just me going out swinging. My last two matches, I definitely hit the ball really well and I was trying to bring that energy into the finals.”
Jack Moldenhauer won two individual state tennis titles and four state team titles at Kent Denver. He played college tennis at Tufts University in Medford, Mass.
Lila defeated Lewis-Palmer’s Juliya Yuzkiv (6-1, 6-1), Air Academy’s Haylee Hussman (6-0, 6-0) and Niwot’s Saha Kolli (6-1, 6-1) on the way to the finals.
Saturday, Lila jumped out to a 3-0 lead and cruised to the first set win.
“It was a little nerve-wracking in the beginning,” said Moldenhauer about switching venues to the Pueblo Tennis Center. “These courts are awesome, and I think we figured it out. She (Nakamura) is a very good player, and I was just able to play my match and get the job done.”
Nakamura, an exchange student from Kinango, Japan, which is 30 minutes south of Tokyo, was emotional about her one year at Erie. Nakamura beat Cheyenne Mountain’s Alyssa Sadri (6-2, 6-3) in the semifinals.
“It was amazing,” said Nakamura, 17. “I love my teammates and coaches. This (season) was the best time of my life. In September through November, it was tough because my English was not good and I didn’t really have friends, but from February when I played tennis, I made a lot of friends and it was just so amazing.”
Nakamura, who never played Moldenhauer before Saturday, was gracious in defeat.
“I needed to play my game and I started slow,” Nakamura said. “She is a good player and she had so much spin. I feel like I needed to be more aggressive.”
In other championship matches Saturday, Cheyenne Mountain’s Sophie Zhou defeated Niwot’s Tracy Yu (7-5, 7-5) at No. 2 singles; Cheyenne Mountain’s Rose Katen ousted Severance’s Erin Crownhart (6-1, 7-5) at No. 3 singles.
Cheyenne Mountain’s Jocelyn Kelly and Saffron Heroldt defeated Kendall Adams and Samantha Brenner (6-4, 6-3) at No. 1 doubles; Mullen’s Avery Walters and Maisie McMorrow defeated Cheyenne Mountain’s Daisy Hodsdon and Shea Devanny (6-3, 6-2) at No. 2 doubles; Kent Denver’s Claire Bookmyer and Sofia Begal defeated Denver South’s Bianca Bryant and Sophie Kuentzler (6-3, 6-2) at No. 3 doubles; Kent Denver’s Sasha Berry and Margaux Lively defeated Cheyenne Mountain’s Meg Devanny and Lauren Sharp (6-2, 6-2) at No. 4 doubles.
Kent Denver and Cheyenne Mountain will meet Tuesday at the tennis courts at Denver City Park for the 4A team title.
