Girls Tennis: Semifinal Matches of Individual State Championship Set for Friday
Photo: Courtney Oakes/Sentinel Colorado
AURORA – The first two rounds of the Colorado High School Activities Association’s Girls Tennis Individual State Championship Tournaments were completed Thursday at Denver City Park, Denver South High School, Pueblo City Park Memorial Park, and Cheyenne Mountain High School. The semifinal round will be played tomorrow with the finals set for Saturday. Play will begin at 9 a.m. on both days.
In No. 1 singles, Valor Christian’s Caroline Daugherty, the 2024 individual champion, will continue her quest to win a second-straight title when she takes on Fairview’s Stella Laird. Meanwhile, Ralston Valley – the No. 1 seeded team in the Dual Team State Championships – advanced all seven lines to the semifinals, with the Mustangs’ Emerson Bonner playing Fossil Ridge’s Irene Cobos in the semifinals for a chance to play for the state title.
Fossil Ridge also advanced a player to the semifinals in No. 2 singles, as Fossil Ridge’s Sophie Hartman will play Rock Canyon’s Sanskriti Sinha and Ralston Valley’s Scarlett Lutz will take on Cherry Creek’s Autumn Doyle. In No. 3 singles, Ralston Valley’s Anna Curran and Rocky Mountain’s Ainsley Cunningham will play in one semifinal, while Regis Jesuit’s Rebecca Gelfer takes on Cherry Creek’s Zoe Hochstadt in the other semifinal.
In No. 1 doubles, Cherry Creek’s duo of Elena Sepesi and Zoey Hao will play Rock Canyon’s Megan Knudson and Ally Jenkins, while Valor Christian’s Reese Blanchard and Ella Bohling will take on Ralston Valley’s Adia Farling and Cassidy Gordon for a chance to advance to the championship match. In No. 2 doubles, Cherry Creek’s Karissa Manley and Elizabeth Harbaugh will play Rock Canyon’s Mia Wynne and Skylar Smith with the winner meeting the winner of the other semifinal: Ralston Valley’s Kylie Engelsman and Olivia Hendrickson vs. Valor Christian’s Sienna DeGhetto and Sofia Yaron.
Ralston Valley (Mataya Farling and Julia Campbell) and Regis Jesuit (Abigail Puschaver and Brooklyn Craven) will face one another in No. 3 doubles, while the other semifinal matchup will feature Valor Christian’s Reese Bieser and Bayley Bowers vs. Cherry Creek’s Dylan Milo and Sydney Wadsworth. Finally, in No. 4 doubles, Ralston Valley’s Kate Decker and Sophia Baig will face Valor Christian’s Josie VanHoeven and Juliana Carr, while Fossil Ridge’s Maia Turnbull and Mattie Capes will take on Cherry Creek’s Ashley Geoghegan and Chagajee Colburn.
Cheyenne Mountain and Kent Denver – which advanced six and seven lines to the semifinals, respectively – will meet in No. 1 singles, when Cheyenne Mountain’s Alyssa Sadri will look to dethrone the two-time defending champion in Kent Denver’s Lila Moldenhauer. In the other semifinal, Niwot’s Saha Kolli and George Washington’s Hannah Nguyen will play for a chance to play in the state title match.
In No. 2 singles, Cheyenne Mountain’s Rose Katen will take on Air Academy’s Lily Kate Fackelman, while George Washington’s Hannah Kennda will play Kent Denver’s Victoria Strobos. Ellie Strobos of Kent Denver will play Grand Junction’s Abi Kearl in No. 3 singles, while Cheyenne Mountain’s Sophie Zhou will take on Mullen’s Anna Lawrence.
Air Academy, which advanced four lines to the semifinals, will see its No. 1 doubles team of Bronwyn Whisenant and Riley Green face Cheyenne Mountain’s Saphron Heroldt and Mary Koury, while Niwot’s Sam Zacky and Anne Haley take on Kent Denver’s Annie Goldmanis and Nora Rapp.
In No. 2 doubles, Mullen’s Ali Croci and Alexa Valdez meet Cheyenne Mountain’s Emma Varnum and Sisi Haubert, while Kent Denver’s Claire Bookmyer and Sofia Begal will play Air Academy’s Gemma Braza and Lexie Lueckeman. The No. 3 doubles semifinals will feature Kent Denver’s Samantha Brenner and Sofia Pina vs. Palmer Ridge’s Inge Schultz and Claire Munroe on one side of bracket, and Grand Junction’s Molly Moquin and Piper Hall vs. Mullen’s Grace Jeffers and Jordan Alexander on the other.
In No. 4 doubles, Cheyenne Mountain’s Lauren Sharp and Charlotte Wellens will play Mullen’s Jane Roth and Addie Aragon for a chance to go to the title match, where they’ll face the winner of Kent Denver’s Margaux Lively and Hallie Silverman vs. Air Academy’s Kinley Kilcoyne and Gabi Bean.
Peak to Peak, which advanced six of seven lines to the semifinals, will see its Lena Crotty take on Colorado Academy’s Mira Leon in No. 1 singles, while St. Mary’s Academy’s Ellie White and Dawson School’s Isabella Jacobsma will play in the other No. 1 singles semifinal.
In No. 2 singles, Severance’s Josephine Carter will play Vail Christian’s Alexa Blanch, while Peak to Peak’s Syndey Lewis will face Resurrection Christian’s Isabella Prohs. In No. 3 singles, Prospect Ridge Academy’s Maya Anderson will take on Evergreen’s Emma Bosco for a chance to play in the championship match against the winner of Vail Christian’s Heidi Iverson vs. Peak to Peak’s Ranye Ezenekwe.
Peak to Peak’s duo of Sydney Parkinson and Molly Kolachov will take on Eaton’s Madi Smith and Trinity Salberg, while Colorado Academy’s Anna Johnson and Storm Bearley will face Holy Family’s Olivia Kingley and Reagan Leary in the No. 1 doubles semifinals. In No. 2 doubles, Vail Christian’s Autumn Woods and Camden Allen will take on Lutheran’s Ava Black and Emma Price, while Peak to Peak’s El Allen-Bonney and Lhadze Olsen will play against Evergreen’s Emilia Short and Shyann Oberdorf.
In No. 3 doubles, Prospect Ridge Academy’s Amelia Waggoner and Natalie Rocks will look to get past Holy Family’s Ella Franko and Theresa (Loan) La to face the winner of the semifinal match between Eaton’s Aya Kinoshita and Evelyn South and Peak to Peak’s Jolie Sasseville and Abby Fitzgerald in the championship finals.
Finally, in No. 4 doubles, Prospect Ridge Academy’s Elsie Schuler and Serafima Tsevan will take on St. Mary’s Academy’s Mary Kate Reagan-Wilson and Emalisa Martinez. On the other side of the bracket, Eaton’s Lila DeJager and Hayden Logan will look to get past Timnath’s Mia Dixon and Natalie Irby.
