PUEBLO — Make room for another trophy in the Cheyenne Mountain High School trophy case.
The Indians’ girls tennis team clinched its sixth Class 4A state championship in a row on Friday at the City Park Tennis Complex.
Cheyenne secured its 19th state girls tennis crown, all coming since 1986, thanks to advancing Kalyssa Hall (No. 1 singles), Daniella Adamczyk (No. 2 singles) and Casey Ahrendsen and Ally Arenson (No. 1 doubles), Tory Lewis and Claire Dibble (No. 2 doubles) and Megan Dibble and Chelsey Geisz (No. 3 doubles) into today’s finals. The finals and third-place matches are at 9 a.m. Saturday.
“I’m very pleased,” said veteran Cheyenne coach Dave Adams, whose team has no seniors. “All year long we were keeping track of St. Mary’s (Academy) and we had two big head-to-head wins against them at No. 2 and No. 3 singles Friday, and we just played very well overall. Maintaining that tradition is a neat thing. Every team that comes in here wants to live up to that legacy. There is some pressure that comes along with it, but I’m real proud of how these girls handled all of this and came through.”
(Bethany Brookens/CHSAANow.com)
Cheyenne Mountain completed Friday with 66 points, followed by St. Mary’s Academy (48) and Kent Denver (47) who can’t mathematically overtake the Indians Saturday.
Adamczyk defeated St. Mary’s Suzy Xiao 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals, and Metz cruised past St. Mary’s Elana Villanueva 6-1, 6-0 in a playback match Friday afternoon to secure the Indians’ state title.
Hall, a sophomore, who won state at No. 1 singles a year ago, is eager to repeat Saturday. Hall meets Alex Weil, a junior from St. Mary’s Academy, in the finals. They haven’t played this season.
“It is just awesome to be a part of another state championship team,” the 5-foot-11 Hall said. “I’m really excited. I’m really happy with our team, especially since we are so young. It’s so cool to be able to contribute to Cheyenne Mountain’s legacy. I’m also really excited to see if I can go get my second state title. If I can pull that out it would be awesome.”
Adamczyk shared some of the same thoughts as Hall about the Indians reaching the state pinnacle again.
“All of our hard work paid off,” Adamczyk said. “It is just a great feeling. I’ve played really solid the past two days, and I just need to keep playing that way (Saturday).”
At No. 3 singles, Pueblo West’s Caitie McCarthy is trying to add another line to her memorable state tournament when she faces Kent Denver’s Maeve Kearney in the finals.
McCarthy, a sophomore, is the first boy or girl to play for a state tennis championship for Pueblo West since the school opened in 1997.
“She is so athletic and she has just played outstanding so far,” said Pueblo West coach Pisciotta about McCarthy who also is a standout softball player. “It is huge for our school and our program for her to get to the finals and hopefully she can keep her momentum going (Saturday).”
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COLORADO SPRINGS — The Air Academy girls lacrosse team advanced to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs after an impressive 19-2 win over Heritage/Littleton Friday night.
The Lady Kadets’ offense worked smoothly and efficiently as the defense played a near-flawless game forcing turnover after turnover. The Gryphons never appeared to get comfortable and the lack of flow played right into Air Academy’s ability to run their offense and convert their shots on goal.
“Defense wins championships. I’m an old sports cliche guy,” Kadets coach Sean Harmon said. “We really focus on that. Jessica Berg — I think from briefly looking at the book — she had 10 steals, which is an amazing game. I know that was frustrating for them in their offensive zone that we would get those quick takeaways.”
Minutes into the game the Kadets were able to build a 2-0 lead before the Gryphons would find the back of the net for the first time. Alexandra Coy cut the lead for Air Academy in half, but that’s when the Kadets would kick it into high gear. Led by midfielder Kaley Holmes, the Kadets would score the next 10 goals to end the second half, going into the break with a 12-2 lead.
Holmes led the squad with three first half goals while midfielder Natalie Berg and attacker Kennedy Jamieson each contributed two. The balanced scoring attack was designed to keep the Gryphons from being able to focus defensively on a single player.
“Having it be the first playoff game for us we wanted to come out here and play our game and play the best game we know how to play,” Natalie Berg said. “When we came out here we moved the ball on offense and wanted to make sure that not a single person was a threat so that it was difficult for them to defend us.”
The Kadets came out in the second half and scored five more before Heritage/Littleton would add its second goal of the game. But it would be too little, too late and Air Academy would move on with the 19-2 win. It was the kind of statement that the Kadets were hoping to make as they start their run at a state championship.
Constant offensive pressure and and a stingy defense is the kind of game that Harmon likes to see from his team and hopes to see plenty of it in the coming weeks.
“We fight for draw, every possession; whenever we do cause a turnover defensively we like to move the ball through transition and get going,” Harmon said. “Today we had our cutters moving and we were able to get some goals pretty easily.”
The road will only get tougher for the Kadets as they await the winner of Kent Denver and Cheyenne Mountain. They know the road to the championship will only get tougher so getting a big win early will help the Kadets build confidence as they get going.
“Momentum is all of it, we just gotta keep coming out hard,” Holmes said. “We went all out today and we came together as a team which was a big thing. It’s been kind of a struggle for us so coming out and playing the whole game and playing hard is what we’re trying to build on.”
Air Academy’s quarterfinal opponent will be determined Saturday with the quarterfinal game to be played next week.
Dakota Ridge junior Rylie O’Keefe, left, and Columbine sophomore Tatum Barton, right, go up for a header Friday night. Columbine took a 2-1 victory in double overtime to advance to the state quarterfinals of the Class 5A state tournament. (Dennis Pleuss)
ARVADA — The only guarantee Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex was that a Jeffco squad would be advancing into the quarterfinals of the Class 5A girls soccer state tournament.
No. 8-seeded Columbine faced conference-rival Dakota Ridge, the No. 24 seed, in the second round at NAAC. Columbine sophomore Tatum Barton scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime period to give the Rebels a 2-1 victory.
“I just knew I needed to finish because the game was on the line,” said Barton of her 24th goal this season — and probably her biggest. “We pulled it out.”
Columbine sophomore Breckyn Schmitz attempt to save the ball from going out of bounds Friday at the North Area Athletic Complex. (Dennis Pleuss)
Sophomore Breckyn Schmitz sent a long ball from the midfield to Barton in the second minute of the second overtime period. Barton worked her scoring magic from there.
“Breckyn Schmitz released a long ball and Tatum does a great job always of shielding and holding herself on the ball,” Columbine coach Brian Todd said. “She (Barton) won the one-on-one battle and tucked it away.”
Barton beat a Dakota Ridge defender and slipped a low shot past Dakota Ridge junior Cassidy O’Hagen for the game-winning goal.
“I was praying that she (Barton) would make it and not shank it or something,” Columbine sophomore Kelcey Cavarra said. “I just knew it was in when I saw it get past the keeper.”
Cavarra scored the first goal of the game converting on a penalty kick in the 23rd minute during the first half to give the Rebels (14-3) a 1-0 lead.
The sophomore went down with an injury with 11:56 left in the second half and wasn’t on the field when Dakota Ridge tied the game at 1-1 in the 74th minute. Senior Ashley Mages headed in a cross from senior Taylor Terrell for the equalizer.
“It killed me. I was so depressed,” Cavarra said of watching the Eagles dominate the scoring chances in the final minutes of the second half. “I just wanted to get in there and work my butt off to do anything I could.”
Cavarra returned to the pitch a few minutes in the first 15-minute overtime period.
Dakota Ridge (6-10-1) had a pair of scoring chances in the first overtime period. Terrell and senior Kayla Latham both got off shots on Columbine junior goalie Sarah Luebking.
Columbine sophomore Breckyn Schmitz, far left, tries to cutoff the path of Dakota Ridge senior Madison Chapman during the first half Friday night. Schmitz picked up the assist on the game-winning goal for the Rebels. (Dennis Pleuss)
“We managed to score one,” Dakota Ridge coach Damon Smerchek said. “I thought we played well enough to get a second goal, but it just didn’t go that way.”
It was the second meeting of the year between the to area-rivals. Columbine took a 3-1 win March 19 in conference play. Barton scored a pair of goals, while Cavarra picked up a goal and assist. Dakota Ridge sophomore Lauryn Ratashak had the lone goal for the Eagles in the loss.
Despite a losing record coming into the postseason, the Eagles played a ton of close games. Of Dakota Ridge’s 10 losses, nine were one-goal defeats. The Eagles blanked No. 9-seeded Smoky Hill 2-0 in the opening round of the state tournament Tuesday night.
“We lost a lot of tough games,” Smerchek said. “We put together a top schedule so we would be ready for games like this in the playoffs.”
Columbine, 5A Jeffco League champs, will actually get to host a state quarterfinal Tuesday, May 13. No. 17-seeded Doherty scored a 1-0 upset Friday night of top-seeded Fossil Ridge.
“I would love to be able to host,” Todd said after he was told that Doherty (9-7) was leading previous undefeated Fossil Ridge in the second half.
The Spartans started the season with a 1-5 record, but have won five of their last six games going into Tuesday’s quarterfinal against Columbine.
Columbine sophomore Tatum Barton (6) goes stride-for-stride with Dakota Ridge junior Gabi Gines (14) during the first half Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada. Barton scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime period in the second round of the Class 5A state tournament. (Dennis Pleuss)
BROOMFIELD — Holy Family beat Estes Park 4-0 in the first round of the Class 3A girls soccer playoffs on Friday. Emma Stokes, Kendall Russell, Charly Clements and Kelton Hipkins scored goals.
DENVER — Tate Schroeder knew she was playing a state championship match for more than herself.
The Arapahoe sophomore was facing a defending state champion in Rebecca Weissmann in Saturday’s championship match in the No. 1 singles division of the girls Class 5A state tennis tournament.
Arapahoe’s Tate Schroeder celebrates winning the 5A No. 1 singles title in girls tennis. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Schroeder took command early against Weissmann, breaking serve in three games in each set to earn a 6-4, 6-3 victory and, with it, her first state title.
In addition to individual glory, Schroeder was playing for her teammates, all 10 of which also qualified for the state tournament.
Schroeder carried Davis’ picture with her to important matches this season. She had Claire’s name written on her shoes. The entire team, in fact, wore patches on the back of their uniforms honoring Davis.
Ultimately, the title match came down to two of the hardest hitters in the girls state tennis ranks.
Schroeder took a 4-0 lead in the first set. But Weissmann, also a sophomore, knows how to battle back from adversity. She tied the set.
At that point, “I just knew that I couldn’t let that get me down,” Schroeder said.
She won the next two games, including breaking serve in the deciding game.
The second set started much the same way, with Schroeder building a 5-1 lead. Ever the competitor, Weissmann won the next two games and thought she had pulled to within 5-4 when she called a baseline shot by Schroeder out, but she was overruled by the chair umpire. Schroeder won the next two points, and with it, the match.
“I really had to work for it,” Schroeder said, tipping her cap to Weissmann.
Both players have similar styles, preferring to hit strong ground strokes from the baseline. Weissmann enjoys that challenge.
“I like playing against girls who hit the ball hard,” she said, giving credit to her opponent.
Schroeder’s coach, Dave Shear, said she worked on little things to improve her game since her fourth-place finish in last year’s state tournament.
“What I did last year was continue developing,” Shear said, noting that Schroeder worked in particular on her serving and ground strokes, both of which have become strong.
“She’s easy to coach because she’ll work hard,” Shear said. He added that Schroeder sometimes practices for four hours after school before attacking her homework.
(Paul Angelico/CHSAANow.com)
Arahahoe also got a state title from its No. 3 doubles team of Bridget O’Brien and Laura Wilms, who defeated the duo from Cherry Creek in a three-setter. But Cherry Creek owned much of the rest of the tournament. The Bruins won a state title at No. 3 singles (Madeline Roberts) and took the championship in the other three doubles matches — Mia Hoover/Rachael Scheber (No. 2), Jessie Murphy/Hanna Fernley (No. 2) and Kara Lee/Jessica Diamond (No. 4).
That propelled Cherry Creek to its 18th consecutive state team crown. The Bruins finished with 83 points.
Fossil Ridge, which had three entries in championship matches but didn’t win any state titles, took second place with 51 points, edging Arapahoe by four points. Denver East was fourth with 44 and Fairview fifth with 25.
Denver East’s Natalie Munson didn’t give up a game in winning the No. 2 singles championship match.
PUEBLO — When No. 1 singles player Kalyssa Hall needed to be her best, she was Saturday.
The Cheyenne Mountain sophomore cruised through a second-set tiebreaker against St. Mary’s Academy’ Alex Weil 6-3, 7-6 (2) to capture here second-consecutive Class 4A state title at the City Park Tennis Complex.
“I just kept my head together and I didn’t get too nervous and I stayed relaxed,” the 5-foot-11 Hall said. “It’s so cool to be a two-time state champion. I’m so excited. It’s kind of surreal. I was especially relaxed in the tiebreaker. I decided I wasn’t going to go three sets. I loosened up and everything clicked and I pulled it out.”
Hall also won state a year ago at No. 1 singles. Hall, who was unbeaten this season, is on pace to become Cheyenne Mountain’s only second four-time No. 1 singles state champion, joining Becky Varnum. Varnum, who finished her prep career with a 68-0 record, won her titles from 1995-98.
(Bethany Brookens/CHSAANow.com)
“That’s my goal,” Hall, 16, said about being a four-timer.
Veteran Cheyenne Mountain coach Dave Adams praised Hall.
“Kalyssa did a good job of not getting drawn into a total power game because (Weil) hit just as hard as Kalyssa did,” Adams said. “She did a good job of counter punching a little bit and she was willing to just roll the ball back in play. She took a little pace off on occasion and mixed it up with a couple of big serves here and there. It was a great match. Kalyssa was playing a little tight in the last game or two (of the second set) and she did a great job of just resettling herself and playing focused tennis in the tiebreaker and she didn’t give her any free points. That was the difference.”
Hall jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker before claiming the 7-2 decision to win the match.
Hall was joined atop the podium by her teammates Casey Ahrendsen and Ally Arenson (No. 1 doubles), Tory Lewis and Claire Dibble (No. 2 doubles) and Megan Dibble and Chelsey Geisz (No. 3 doubles). The Indians’ Daniella Adamczyk (No. 2 singles) lost in the finals 6-3, 6-3 to Kent Denver’s Delaney Nalen 6-3, 6-3.
There was no drama in the team race.
Cheyenne Mountain clinched its 19th state girls tennis team title Friday. It was also the Indians sixth Class 4A title in a row. More impressive is the team has no seniors.
Cheyenne Mountain finished with 80 points, followed by St. Mary’s Academy (53), Kent Denver (50) and Niwot (42).
“We are very fortunate because we are not losing anybody, but one thing we have learned is we can sit and rest on our laurels,” Adams said.
Ahrendsen and Arenson, who are freshmen, defeated Niwot’s Lauren Richards and Maura Derr 6-4, 6-3.
“I always dreamed about it (winning a state tennis tennis championship at Cheyenne Mountain), but it always seemed far in the future and I didn’t expect it,” Arenson said. “Casey and I have been playing tennis together forever and we were so excited we got to be partners together and to win state is just awesome. (Saturday) we lobbed a lot and really attacked the net and we just did a really good job and pulled through. I think I’ve recognized it happened, but I don’t think it has sunk in what a big deal and honor it is to win state as a freshman.”
(Bethany Brookens/CHSAANow.com)
Megan Dibble and Geisz muscled past Kent Denver’s Lily Rogers-Masamori and Tempel Haifleigh 6-4, 6-2.
With the victory, Geisz adds more state championship history to her family. Geisz’s mother, whose maiden name was Laurie Gardner, won No. 2 singles state championships in 1985 and ’86 at Cheyenne Mountain.
Speaking of history, at No. 3 singles, Pueblo West’s Caitie McCarthy made some her own Saturday.
The sophomore outlasted Kent Denver’s Maeve Kearney 7-6 (4), 6-3 to capture her first state tennis championship and the inaugural state tennis state championship – boy or girl – in the history of Pueblo West which opened in 1997.
“Caitie came out and she had a lot of nerves and she also was playing against a left-handed player,” Pueblo West coach Sam Pisciotta said. “She came through it and figured out how to play against her and this was just a huge win for Caitie and our school.”
AURORA — Top-seeded Cherry Creek punched its ticket to the semifinals with a 12-5 win over No. 8 Rock Canyon in the 5A boys lacrosse quarterfinals on Saturday.
