Girls Tennis: Two Rounds Complete, Semifinals Set for Friday
Photo: Dan Mohrmann
AURORA – The first two rounds of the Colorado High School Activities Association’s Girls Tennis Individual State Championship Tournaments were completed Thursday. The 5A tournament will continue to be played at Denver Tennis Park, with 4A at Pueblo City Park and 3A at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs.
The semifinals and second-round playback matches will take place on Friday, with the championship finals and playback finals taking place on Saturday. Finals and third-place matches are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday for the 3A and 4A tournaments, with the third-place matches starting at 8:30 a.m. and finals at 10 a.m. for 5A.
Individuals qualified for the state tournament bracket through their performances at regionals. Please note, the individual state championships are different than the dual team state championships, which will be hosted at Denver Tennis Park on Tuesday, May 12, for all three classifications.
In No. 1 singles, Valor Christian’s Caroline Daugherty continues her quest for a third-straight state title, as she faces Fossil Ridge’s Irene Cobos in tomorrow’s semifinals, while Ralston Valley’s Emerson Bonner takes on Legacy freshman Lynnsey Lu. In No. 2 singles, Ralston Valley’s Anna Curran will meet Cherry Creek’s Madeline Hochstadt, as Valor Christian’s Avery Jaggers faces Rock Canyon’s Isabella Robison.
In No. 3 singles, Ralston Valley’s Scarlett Lutz and Rock Canyon Skylar Smith will face off with the winner advancing to the finals, while Rocky Mountain’s Ainsley Cunningham and Cherry Creek’s Lizzie Harbaugh will do the same. In No. 1 doubles, Ralston Valley’s duo of Mataya Farling and Harlowe Lutz have advanced and will meet Regis Jesuit’s Samantha Garcia Lucero and Abigail Puschaver in the semifinals. The winner will advance to the finals to face the winner of Valor Christian (Sofia Yaron and Ella Bohling) vs. Cherry Creek (Karissa Manley and Elena Sepesi).
In No. 2 doubles, the team of Zoe Hochstadt and Ashley Geoghegan from Cherry Creek will take on Fossil Ridge’s Rhaya Rogers and Mattie Capes, while Ralston Valley’s Olivia Hendrickson and Julia Campbell will face Valor Christian’s Anna Schouten and Reese Bieser. The No. 3 doubles semifinals will feature Ralston Valley (Kate Decker and Sophia Baig) vs. Fairview (Madeleine Sieper and Madeleine Grandsaert) and Rock Canyon (Raleigh Salazar and Sydney Stanton) vs. Cherry Creek (Chagajee Colburn and Anushka Laxminarayan).
Finally, in No. 4 doubles, Mountain Vista’s Nikki Maughan and Lucia Wynn will play Rock Canyon’s Zoe Katsoulas and Reagan O’Neill, as Denver South’s Harper Pederson and Kari Hresko face Cherry Creek’s Dylan Milo and Riley Farber.
In total, both Cherry Creek and Ralston Valley advanced six lines to the semifinals, while Rock Canyon and Valor Christian moved four. Fossil Ridge advanced two, while Denver South, Fairview, Legacy, Mountain Vista, Regis Jesuit and Rocky Mountain all have one line in the semifinals.
Cheyene Mountain’s Rose Katen – the state champion at No. 2 singles a year ago – is looking to make her mark in No. 1 singles this year, but will first need to get past Grand Junction’s Maridie Schmidt in tomorrow’s semifinals. In the other semifinal, Mullen’s Lilly Evans faces Windsor freshman Aristea Fulgenzi.
The No. 2 and No. 3 singles semifinals will also feature Cheyenne Mountain, Grand Junction and Kent Denver, as Cheyenne Mountain’s Alyssa Sadri faces Durango’s Ella Claassen in No. 2 singles, while Grand Junction’s Grace DeHerrera takes on Kent Denver’s Nora Rapp. In No. 3 singles, Cheyenne Mountain’s Sophie Zhou looks to get past Mullen freshman Gabriella Gregg, and Grand Junction’s Kendra Tooker will meet Kent Denver freshman Dylan Sturman.
At No. 1 doubles, Cheyenne Mountain’s team of Saffron Heroldt and Mary Koury will face Air Academy’s Riley Green and Bronwyn Whisenant, while Mullen’s Addie Aragon and Jane Roth meet Kent Denver’s Hallie Silverman and Claire Bookmyer. The same four schools will be featured in No. 2 doubles as Cheyenne Mountain (Emma Varnum and Sienna Haubert) meets Mullen (Cate McMorrow and Jamie Alexander) and Air Academy’ Lexie Lueckeman and Ava Martin take the court with Kent Denver’s Arwen Liu and Sophia Begal.
In No. 3 doubles, Grand Junction advanced to the semifinals, as Estella Berry and Eliza Bell will take on Kent Denver’s Sofia Pina and Drea Dickman. In the other semifinal, Cheyenne Mountain (Ruth Ringer and Ayva Bonicelli) will play Air Academy’s Kinley Kilcoyne and Harper Young. Finally, in No. 4 doubles, Cheyenne Mountain’s Erica Leveille and Eleena Case will meet Windsor’s Brielle Pohlen and Elsa Gilmore, while Niwot’s Amy Calderon and Hazel Awsumb and Mullen’s Sophie McMorrow and Nina Licko will face off for a chance to advance to the finals.
Overall, Cheyenne Mountain advanced all seven lines to the semifinals, while Kent Denver and Mullen advanced five. Grand Junction moved four to the semifinals, and Air Academy qualified three for the semifinals, Windsor two and Durango and Niwot one each.
At No. 1 singles, JoAnna Carter of Severance – which advanced all three singles lines – will take on Colorado Academy’s Mira Leon, while Vail Christian’s Alexa Blanch – the state champion at No. 2 singles last year – will face Resurrection Christian’s Kylee Mayes. No. 2 singles will feature Severance’s Josephine Carter vs. Lutheran’s Elle Philson and Prospect Ridge Academy’s Shannon Schmidt and Berthoud’s Amelia Major.
Colorado Academy freshman Annika Bhandari has advanced to her first state semifinal, where she will play D’Evelyn’s Kate Gittlein at No. 3 singles. The other semifinal will pit Severance’s Myla Moore vs. Delta’s Jazlyn Naranjo.
The same four schools are in each of the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches, as Eaton (Madi Smith and Trin Salberg) will meet Vail Christian (Olivia Zajac and Autumn Woods) in No. 1 doubles, while Colorado Academy (Elise Yang and Sheena Wu) take on Holy Family (Reagan Leary and Theresa La). The schools will switch in No. 2 doubles, with Eaton’s Aya Kinoshita and Evelyn South playing Colorado Academy’s Kate Johnson and Kiara Kiesey and Holy Family’s Penelope Hasley and Kyla Hermes taking on Vail Christian’s Camden Allen and Iris Blanch.
At No. 3 doubles, Evergreen’s lone semifinalists – Sally Bible and Jane Maren – will meet Vail Christian’s Sabrina Nabonsal and Paige Asbury, while D’Evelyn (Nisha Gupta and Sophia Do) and Prospect Ridge Academy (Elsie Schuler and Arianna Rader) will face off in the other semifinal. Finally, the No. 4 doubles team of Sorenna Cooper and Olivia Babbitt (St. Mary’s Academy) will play Holy Family’s Liesl Bennett and Tess Richardson, and Angela Leider and Julia Leider of D’Evelyn will take the court with Lutheran’s Liz Horwith and Laure-Helene Aussandon.
Colorado Academy and Vail Christian lead the way with four lines advancing to the semifinals, while D’Evelyn, Holy Family and Severance advanced three each. Eaton, Lutheran and Prospect Ridge will each be in two semifinals, while Berthoud, Delta, Evergreen, Resurrection Christian and St. Mary’s Academy advanced one line apiece.
