Colorado girls state tennis tourney is just a month away

It might be a little daunting to realize that the high school girls tennis season comes to a head in exactly one month when all three classifications open the three-day state tournament.

That's the spring sports season, though – in and out in a hurry. Tennis gets the chance to take center stage before all other sports, provided Mother Nature is cooperative.

Last spring belonged to the juniors and other underclassmen. Of the seven state individual champions in Class 5A, only one senior could be found among the bunch – Clare Lupo of Fairview (Boulder) at No. 4 doubles.

In 4A, Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) accounted for the only three seniors who won state titles. The Indians graduated their No. 2 doubles team and half of their No. 3 doubles tandem.

That should make for some interesting theater at Gates Tennis Center in Denver (5A state) and Pueblo City Park (4A). The inaugural 3A field will hold serve at Centennial Park in Greeley (3A) from May 11-13. Regionals should wrap up around the state by May 6, with the state brackets then released.



Until then, here is a quick glance at those looking to defend titles and what has taken place over the first month of the season:

Class 5A
• Fairview became the first school not named Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) to capture the 5A team championship since Grand Junction did it back in 1996. That ended a run of 19 consecutive trophies for the Bruins.
The Knights edged Cherry Creek by three points, with freshman Seraphin Castelino defeating Ky Ecton of Poudre (Fort Collins) in straight sets to win the No. 1 singles title. Another freshman, Sophie Pearson, won the No. 3 singles crown in three sets, and Lupo combined with sophomore Denali Pinto won in the No. 4 doubles title. Six state qualifiers are back for the Knights.
• Speaking of Cherry Creek, the Bruins still brought home two championships. Micha Handler won the No. 2 singles title as a sophomore, and Allison Murphy and Emily Wilkins topped the No. 2 doubles field. Sayuri Garud was the runner-up as a freshman at No. 3 singles.
• Ponderosa (Parker) and Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins) also claimed trophies. The Mustangs took first at No. 1 doubles behind the play of juniors Hunter Barker and Sydney Waite; Fossil Ridge won the No. 3 doubles title with juniors Erinn Hogan and Lindsay Noble.
• Among the handful of undefeated players through the first month at No. 1 singles (according to statistics reported to MaxPreps.com), Smoky Hill (Aurora) junior Anshika Singh led the way with a 9-0 record. Ecton and Lakewood freshman Olivia Desso started 5-0, and Fruita Monument junior Sarah Fleming, Brighton junior Kiara Kovach and Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) senior Casey Zhong were 4-0.
• Other notable starts: At No. 2 singles, Maddie Musich of Mountain Range (Westminster) was 7-0, and Ponderosa's Claire Cox was 5-0. Her Mustangs teammate, Amber Glantz, opened 5-0 at No. 3 singles – as did Grand Junction's Kamryn Peltier.
• Barker and Waite have been strong at No. 1 doubles, starting 5-0. Brooke Kennedy and Lauren Schaffer of Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins) did the same. Mikayla Dudek and Ginger Harrington of Monarch (Louisville) opened 6-0 at No. 2 doubles, and Denver East's Kelly Wulf and Maddie Darre were 8-1.
The Coyotes' Laura Cook and Savannah Cook got off to a strong 6-0 start at No. 3 doubles. Ponderosa's Megan Stout and Elizabeth Jardee were 5-0 at No. 4 doubles.

Class 4A
• Cheyenne Mountain's grip on the 4A team race continued last May, with the Indians securing an eighth championship in a row. Cheyenne Mountain held off Kent Denver (Englewood) by 13 points overall, winning all four doubles championships.
Juniors Casey Ahrendsen and Ally Arenson won it all at No. 1 doubles. As a freshman, Ariana Arenson teamed with senior Tatumn Mika to lock up the No. 3 doubles crown. Shannon Wallace and Taylor Heinicke were No. 4 doubles champions, with Wallace doing it as a junior and Heinicke as a freshman.
Morgan Hall placed third as a freshman at No. 1 singles, and Claire Dibble did the same as a junior at No. 3 singles.
• Kent Denver's two championships came in the singles arena. Freshman Josie Schaffer won the No. 1 singles crown in straight sets over Pueblo West junior Sara Schoenbeck. Sun Devils sophomore Natalie Bronsdon claimed the No. 3 singles title.
• Discovery Canyon (Colorado Springs) placed third in the team standings, and freshman Mattie Kuntzelman won it all at No. 2 singles. She's moved up to No. 1 singles for 2017, where she's off to a 5-1 start.
• Other notables at No. 1 singles (according to MaxPreps) through the first month: Schoenbeck started 5-0 for Pueblo West, as did Denver South's Willow Purvis and Spencer Snyder of Northridge (Greeley). Hall and Schaffer also return to make for a loaded field.
• Niwot junior Julia Pentz opened with a 7-0 start at No. 2 singles, and Lewis-Palmer (Monument) junior Joee Crocker was 6-1. South's Sabrina Vargas Bakas started 5-0.
At No. 3 singles, Lewis-Palmer freshman Austynn Crocker was 6-1 and South's McKenna Gawler was 5-0.
• In doubles play, Discovery Canyon's Lizzie McCurdy and Hunter Jones are looking good after a 6-0 start. Niwot's Amanda Duquette and Erin O'Neill were 6-1 at No. 2 doubles, while Air Academy's Grace Ensor and Mackie Tate Tygart were 7-0 at No. 3 doubles. Niwot freshmen Avery O'Neill and Lily Sieben started 6-1.
At No. 4 doubles, Niwot and Air Academy both opened 5-2.

Class 3A
• Colorado Academy (Denver) should be among the favorites of the 47 teams who drop down into the newly-formed 3A classification. The Mustangs placed fifth a year ago in 4A. Other teams joining the 3A ranks after placing in the top 10 at 4A last spring include D'Evelyn (Denver), Holy Family (Broomfield) and Eaton.
• A quick look at reported statistics in 3A through the first month shows a talented No. 1 singles field taking shape. Conifer junior Hailey Janson opened 5-0, as did senior Janna Phansiri of University (Greeley). Colorado Academy freshman Sammy Moore-Thomson and Eaton senior Myiah Scott were 4-0.
• Krista Davis of The Vanguard School (Colorado Springs) has been pacing No. 2 singles with a 6-0 mark, and Pueblo County freshman Erin Mauro was 5-0.
Arvada's Catherine Bui started 6-0 at No. 3 singles, and Berthoud's Leah Marty was 6-1.
• In doubles play, Holy Family has looked the part of a title contender from No. 1 doubles all the way to the team's No. 4 duo.