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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.
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.
Perhaps more important, she had dedicated the season to fellow Arapahoe student Claire Davis, who died in a school shooting earlier in the school year.
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.
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.
