4A Girls Tennis: Rose Katen Wins No. 1 Singles as Cheyenne Mountain Claims Five Titles
By Tracy Renck
Photo: Tracy Renck
PUEBLO – Make it a trifecta for Cheyenne Mountain High School’s Rose Katen.
The senior capped her memorable prep individual tennis career by completing the sweep of all three Class 4A state individual singles state championships.
Katen accomplished the mission by defeating Windsor freshman Aristea Fulgenzi 7-5, 6-1 in the No. 1 singles finals Saturday at the City Park Tennis Courts.
“I’m really proud of myself because I have worked really hard to not only move up in my team’s lineup but also making that progression to win state at each position,” said Katen. “I definitely put a lot of work into this and I’m happy that it paid off for me.”
As a sophomore, Katen won state at No. 3 singles and then her junior year she was the No. 2 singles champ for Cheyenne Mountain.
The first set Saturday for Katen and Fulgenzi was full of drama – and good tennis.
Katen roared out to a 3-0 lead and was up 4-2 before Fulgenzi rallied. The Windsor star came all the way back to take a 5-4 lead, but Katen answered back with a flurry. She won three sets in a row to win 7-5.
“Honestly, I think I was doing a really good job of staying grounded in the moment and not thinking about if I lost the first set,” the 5-foot-7 Katen said. “That’s something I have struggled with in the past, staying focused, especially the last time I played her. I played her in the second round of the state team tournament (earlier this season), and I lost a tiebreaker in the first set, and I lost the second set 6-3. I wasn’t staying focused and getting in my head a lot and this match (Saturday) I did a much better job of staying focused. That was my main strategy.”
Katen kept riding her momentum to go up 4-1 in the second set for the Red-Tailed Hawks and she cruised to the victory.
“I needed to remember that even though I won the first set, it didn’t really mean anything,” Katen said. “I just couldn’t assume I was going to win the second set. I had to keep my focus.”
Fulgenzi was gracious in defeat.
“I think last time I played her I played well and I won and there was a lot of pressure that way,” Fulgenzi said. “She’s a senior, and my mentality was to fight to the end and hit every ball I could and even though I missed more than I should have at the end of the day, she is a great player, and she played really well and she deserved it. It was a good match.”
Katen is going to college in the fall at Fordham University in New York City.
“I’m not planning on playing tennis in college, at least initially because my classes are a big-time commitment,” said Katen, who is planning on majoring in Biological Sciences with idea of going the pre-med route.
It was a day of celebration for Cheyenne Mountain as Alyssa Sadri ousted Northridge’s Cora Santos (6-0, 6-0) at No. 2 singles and Cheyenne’s No. 3 singles player Sophie Zhou sped past Grand Junction’s Kendra Tooker (6-1, 6-1).
That was the first time in the storied history of Cheyenne Mountain girls tennis that the team swept all three singles and No. 1 and No. 2 doubles titles.
In No. 1 doubles, Cheyenne’s Saffron Heroldt/Mary Koury muscled by Mullen’s Addie Aragon/Jane Roth (6-1, 6-2).
At No. 2 doubles, Cheyenne’s Emma Varnum/Sienna Haubert outlasted Kent Denver’s Arwen Liu/Sofia Begal (3-6, 7-5, 6-3).
No. 3 doubles – the lone line without Cheyenne Mountain, Kent Denver’s Sofia Pina/Drea Dickman defeated Air Academy’s Kinley Kilcoyne/Harper Young (6-1, 6-0).
No. 4 doubles, Niwot’s Amy Calderon/Hazel Awsumb edged Cheyenne Mountain’s Erica Leveille/Eleena Case (7-5, 3-6, 6-1).
Thompson Valley was the recipient of the Vicky Matarrazo Sportsmanship Award.
Cheyenne Mountain, the reigning Class 4A girls team champion, will try to win its second title in a row when it faces rival Kent Denver at 11:30 a.m., May 12, at Denver Tennis Park.
No. 1 Singles: Rose Katen (Senior, Cheyenne Mountain) def. Aristea Fulgenzi (Freshman, Windsor), 7-5, 6-1
No. 2 Singles: Alyssa Sadri (Senior, Cheyenne Mountain) def. Nora Rapp (Junior, Kent Denver), 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 Singles: Sophie Zhou (Senior, Cheyenne Mountain) def. Kendra Tooker (Sophomore, Grand Junction), 6-1, 6-1
No. 1 Doubles: Saffron Heroldt/Mary Koury (Cheyenne Mountain) def. Addie Aragon/Jane Roth (Mullen), 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Doubles: Emma Varnum/Sienna Haubert (Cheyenne Mountain) def. Arwen Liu/Sofia Begal (Kent Denver), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
No. 3 Doubles: Sofia Pina/Drea Dickman (Kent Denver) def. Kinley Kilcoyne/Harper Young (Air Academy), 6-1, 6-0
No. 4 Doubles: Amy Calderon/Hazel Awsumb (Niwot) def. Erica Leveille/Eleena Case (Cheyenne Mountain), 7-5, 3-6, 6-1
