AURORA – When it comes to playing the sport she loves, Stella Laird is looking to ride off into the sunset on top.
“Winning state would be really cool,” the Fairview senior said. “That’s what I’ve always been working towards. … It’s my last year and I want to end on a banger. I’m excited to see how far I can get. I have a shot, but it will be tough. It would mean a lot to me. It would show how far I’ve come, and it would be a great way to end my career.”
Laird has been one of Colorado’s top high school singles players for quite some time – she was the 5A state runner-up at No. 2 single as a freshman and sophomore before placing fourth at No. 1 singles last year following a close quarterfinals loss to the eventual runner-up.
But she has decided that this will be the end of her competitive tennis career, though she does still plan to play at the club level while attending Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.
“I have friends in college tennis, and I’ve talked to them about their experiences, and it’s just a lot of commitment,” Laird said. “For me, academics are my No. 1 priority. I want to excel in school, and outside of school I want to have time for myself and to explore my other interests.
“So club tennis is a better fit for me – because in college tennis you are traveling everywhere, and there’s a lot of pressure. If I did college tennis, I would want to do well for the team and I would want to put in all the hours – and that was a bit too much for my plate.”
Laird is off to a 7-0 start this season for a Fairview team that is 5-1 in dual play. She’s among a talented group of title contenders that includes defending 5A champion Caroline Daugherty of Valor Christian. In 4A, Lila Moldenhauer of Kent Denver is in pursuit of a third straight state championship.
The girls tennis postseason is scheduled to start with regionals in late April. The individual state tournaments are May 8 through 10 in Denver (5A), Pueblo (4A) and Colorado Springs (3A). The team state tournaments start April 23 and culminate on May 13.
Laird, with a career record of 56-11, is looking to go one step beyond this season.
“It’s a matter of staying really focused and having the confidence in herself because of all the work she’s put in,” Fairview coach Tanya Cumalat said. “She does have the skills, and she’s been working on her mental game. I’m excited to see that come into play. She hasn’t had too many matches that have been close this year, but I’ve seen it in the early part of the matches. … It’s been fun to see that growth.”
Laird has been playing tennis since age 6 and has enjoyed both the competition and the camaraderie.
“Everyone in tennis is really friendly,” she said. “It’s a very social sport. I started doing tournaments and started traveling – and that part was really fun. I got to see new places and meet a lot of new people.
“I have friends now in different states. A bunch of us have been going to tournaments together and we gradually became friends. Now when I go, I know everybody.”
She was on the circuit again last summer, considering college tennis, when she came to a decision about her future.
“I have a lot of respect for that,” Cumalat said. “She’s had a lot of friends go the college route, and living here next door to (the University of Colorado), we get a first-hand perspective on that, too, and it’s really like an extra major when you go on to play a sport at the varsity level in college.
“I love that she’s out here for the love of the game and ready and more excited than ever for this season. I think it says a lot about her that she still wants to be out here playing and not just having the goal of playing college tennis.”
At Northwestern, Laird will pursue computer science.
“I’ve been doing coding a bunch,” she said. “My parents introduced me to it first. … It just felt like a really good fit.
“There’s a lot of different avenues you can take with coding, a lot of different industries. I had an internship at med tech company, and you can actually see how your work is impacting people and saving lives.”
After making her decision, Laird took some time off in the fall before getting back to business.
“Coming back, I wasn’t sure how I would do because sometimes you can get really rusty,” she said. “I was at first, but we’ve been doing a lot of practicing and now my game is almost better than before. Fairview tennis is very competitive, so I’ve always got someone good to hit with every day, and we also have awesome coaching – they definitely know what they’re doing.”
On the court, Laird plays a diverse style that she’s developed “through trial and error” over the years.
“She’s really great at setting up points,” Cumalat said. “You don’t see her going for winners right away. At first glance, some players might write her off and think they just have to hit big against her, but she’s easily able to keep up with power and pace and she’s very patient and steady. Then she does a great job of picking her moment to step in and go for that winner.
“She’s very good at keeping the ball in play and trying to push her opponent off the court until she can open it up and get her winners.”
Said Laird: “I’d say that I’m an aggressive baseliner. I like to take the initiative in the point. I try to move the opponent around, so a lot of my game is being good at placement and staying consistent. I don’t come in a lot – but I can if I want to.
“I have a big forehand, and I’ve been working on my serve. So big serve, boom, boom, boom and hit them off the court.”
Ranked fifth among 18U Colorado players – some of whom aren’t playing high school tennis – by the United States Tennis Association, Laird has proven capable of playing with the best in the state. Last season she lost to Moldenhauer in two sets that both went to tiebreakers, and she beat Daugherty 6-3, 6-4.
“It was also a really windy day, so I don’t think it was a true reflection of our skills,” Laird said of the win over Daugherty. “I’ve played her a few times over the years, but not recently. She’s a really good player and I know she trains a lot.”
There are other title contenders, too, setting up some interesting May meetings.
“I’ve played most of them before,” Laird said. “I know their game styles, and they know mine. It’s just whoever brings out their best game that day.”
As a team, Laird helped Fairview finish second in 2022, runner-up in the first team state tournament in 2023, and to last year’s quarterfinals.
“Our season has gone pretty well so far,” Laird said. “We have a bunch of new players this year. But we’re getting along really well, and the team spirit is really high. I’m excited. I think we can do really well this year. Everyone is such a good fit, especially our doubles teams, and our singles players have good experience.”
Said Cumalat: “We did graduate quite a few of our top contenders from last year, but I’ve been very pleasantly surprised this season. We had a couple of people work very hard over the summer to move into the varsity lineup and they’re playing great. We have some returners who also worked hard over the past year. We’ve had a very solid start to the season.”
Laird hopes to have a major impact on the team level as well.
“It’s been fun seeing her step up this year as the captain of the team,” Cumalat said. “I’ve seen her out there pointing out different things to players on the team to help them, giving them things to think about.”