Advertisement

Fossil Ridge's regional title sweep leads 29 local qualifiers for state tennis tournament

Chris Abshire, Fort Collins Coloradoan
·4 min read
Fossil Ridge girls tennis player Becca Fahrner (pictured here in the 2022 state tournament) was one of 11 SaberCat players across all seven lines to win a regional title and advance to state this year.
Fossil Ridge girls tennis player Becca Fahrner (pictured here in the 2022 state tournament) was one of 11 SaberCat players across all seven lines to win a regional title and advance to state this year.

Scores, updates: Action finally underway at Colorado state tennis tournament after rain delays

Nineteen positions and 29 players from the Fort Collins area qualified for the Colorado high school state tennis individual championships across Class 3A and 5A.

Regional tournaments were held last week around the state, and local teams had a bevy of qualifiers for the three-day state tournament, coming up Thursday, May 11, through Saturday, May 13, in Denver.

The top two finishers on each line — three singles and four doubles — at regionals advanced.

Here's a look at all of the Fort Collins-area state qualifiers, plus what the format and schedule will look like at the state tournament.

Fossil Ridge

The SaberCats dominated Region 5 action at North Park Lake.

Not only did they send all seven lines to state, they won the regional title in all seven lines, bolstering their seeding at state for potential deep runs.

Here are the Fossil Ridge regional winners and state qualifiers:

  • MaKenna Collins (No. 1 singles)

  • Sophie Hartman (No. 2 singles)

  • Kate Davis (No. 3 singles)

  • Becca Fahrner and Abby Seager (No. 1 doubles)

  • Bela Lorey and Libby Sollenberger (No. 2 doubles)

  • Avery MacKenzie and Afton Sidwell (No. 3 doubles)

  • Sam Udupa and Lara Seager (No. 4 doubles)

Fossil Ridge was also the No. 6 seed in the team bracket after a 10-2 regular season that included a 7-0 league record and a runner-up finish in the Front Range League championships.

The SaberCats beat No. 11 Boulder (7-0) in the first round of the state team tournament before bowing out to perennial tennis power No. 3 Valor Christian (5-2) in the quarterfinals.

Poudre

Poudre singles player Avery Hickman is one of eight Poudre players across five lines to reach the state tennis tournament after winning the regional No. 1 singles title last week.
Poudre singles player Avery Hickman is one of eight Poudre players across five lines to reach the state tennis tournament after winning the regional No. 1 singles title last week.

The Impalas delivered an impressive regional performance, winning two lines and sending five lines total to state.

Here are the Poudre state qualifiers from Region 8 action in Denver:

  • Avery Hickman (first, No. 1 singles)

  • Avery Leman and Avery Jackson (first, No. 4 doubles)

  • Jasmine Cheng (second, No. 2 singles)

  • Macy Pitts and Kavi Voglund (second, No. 1 doubles)

  • Phoenix Wall and Ellie Beauprez (second, No. 3 doubles)

Poudre was also the only other local team to make the team tournament, drawing a No. 12 seed and bowing out to No. 5 Mountain Vista (6-1) in the opening round.

Rocky Mountain

The Lobos advanced four lines and six players to state with runner-up regional finishes, including a pair of freshmen.

Rocky had the unenviable task of taking on city rival Fossil Ridge in Region 5 action in Loveland.

Here are the Rocky Mountain state qualifiers:

  • Faith Galyardt (No. 1 singles)

  • Janey Dunn (No. 3 singles)

  • Rachel Hodsden and Isabelle Kinder (No. 1 doubles)

  • Eliza Katonah-Murphy and Hanna Schneider (No. 4 doubles)

Fort Collins

The Lambkins qualified two lines and three players with runner-up finishes, led by some familiar names.

Here are the Fort Collins qualifiers from Region 3 action at Valor Christian:

  • Evy Sadeh (No. 1 singles)

  • Tyla Aragon and Juliana Gage (No. 2 doubles)

Fort Collins No. 1 singles player Evy Sadeh was one of three Lambkins across two lines to qualify for the individual state tennis tournament.
Fort Collins No. 1 singles player Evy Sadeh was one of three Lambkins across two lines to qualify for the individual state tennis tournament.

Timnath

The first-year Cubs program faced a tough 3A Region 4 at Eaton, with three team tournament qualifiers in their regional.

Timnath had one qualifier in sophomore Anna Davis, who took runner-up in No. 2 singles. She will compete in the 3A state tournament in Colorado Springs.

Though she didn't qualify for state, Cubs sophomore Sarah Daniels also spent most of the season in the 3A top 10 on the No. 1 singles line.

5A state tennis tournament format, schedule

UPDATE: The 5A state tennis individual tournament is now just May 12-13 due to expected inclement weather on Thursday.

There will be some location changes as well. Denver City Park will still host all singles matches plus the No. 1 doubles line, while No. 2 through No. 4 doubles lines will now be split between Denver South High School and Denver Tennis Park on Friday.

As usual, playbacks will be in effect at state, meaning one loss will not knock a player out of the running to place, though it will eliminate them from title contention.

The 16-position bracket for each line begins Friday with first-round action, followed by quarterfinals and then semifinals into the evening.

All finals and playback finals remain on Saturday and will still be played at Denver City Park. Play begins at 9 a.m. each day, weather-permitting.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado tennis: Fossil Ridge leads Fort Collins-area state qualifiers