High school tennis: Brophy, Xavier, AZC Prep, Scottsdale Prep, Thatcher win titles

The AIA high school tennis season officially concluded on Saturday at Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale with championships awarded for boys' and girls' teams in three divisions. Here's a rundown:

Division I boys: Brophy back on top

No. 1 Brophy Prep defeated No. 6 Mountain Ridge 5-2 on matches. The Broncos took care of business early on in the championship, going up 4-2 on matches heading into the doubles flight. Brophy completed a perfect season, ending with a 14-0 overall record. They also went 17-2 overall in postseason matches.

The state title was Brophy's fourth since 2018.

Mountain Ridge Nos. 1 and No. 2, Lincoln Baldonado and Jacob Thomas, won their singles matches. Brophy's Nos. 3 and 6 won their matches to give them the 4-2 overall lead. Heading into the doubles flight, all Brophy needed was one victory, which they got from Logan Phillips and Naren Gudavalli, who won their doubles match 8-0.

"Today really tested the mentality of our players," said head coach Chris Campbell. "It takes a village to come out victorious in this division and I'm just glad we are that team to come out victorious."

Division I girls: Xavier returns as champs

In a battle between the top two teams in D-I, No. 2 Xavier Prep took down Desert Mountain in a tight battle between top programs. The Gators denied the Wolves a fourth straight D-I title in winning their first championship since 2019 by a score of 5-4.

The singles flight resulted in a 3-3 draw between the two teams, leaving the double flight to settle the overall match. There, the first two matches also ended with both teams winning one each, leaving the championship to be settled between Xavier's Belani Soto and Julia Chrostowski, and Desert Mountain's Reese Plinsky and Alexandra Frazier.

It was a back-and-forth battle between them, but Soto, who earlier had won the state doubles title, took over at the end as Xavier won the final set 9-7 to take the overall match and state team championship.

"I'm elated for my girls," said head coach Joy Rodey. "It's been one heck of a ride, especially my four seniors. I'm happy that they can end their high school career with a trophy, and it feels better that they did it against the toughest opponent (Desert Mountain)."

Division II: AZ College Prep boys, girls sweep

Chandler AZ College Prep emerged as the championship program on both boys' and girls' sides on Saturday.

The No. 4-seeded Knights boys team faced off against No. 6 Tucson Salpointe Catholic in the final, sweeping the Lancers 5-0. AZ College Prep Nos. 2-6 players all won their matches without a single set heading into extras.

The Knights faced off against last year's champions, Tucson Catalina Foothills, in the semi-finals and edged them out 5-4. It was a redemption match of sorts for the Knights, which lost in last year's semifinals against Catalina Foothills.

"I'm super happy for these guys, they got over the hump," said head coach Matt Tully. "Last year, we lost to Catalina Foothills who went on to win it all. This year we reversed the roles and now we're champions. No words, just happy we got it done."

The No. 2 AZ College Prep girls' team faced off against No. 9 Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep in the team finals, the teams tied at three matches each in the singles flight. But the Knights won the doubles flight 5-3,.

In the doubles flight, Notre Dame's top doubles pair, Georgia Cranford and Ariana Maestas, had won the separate doubles title in D-II prior to Saturday and were on their way to putting the Saints up 4-3. But AZ College Prep pairs Simran Bhalla and Abigail Hansen, along with Sophia Baniameri and Carleigh Carlos, each won their doubles matches to go on and claim the trophy for the Knights.

"It feels absolutely amazing, these girls have worked so hard to be here," said head coach Debi Stahl. "This has been a beautiful season for our program. It's unbelievable that not only us, but also the boys won in the same season. It's crazy, but it shows how much we worked to be in this position."

Division III boys: Thatcher reclaims title

No. 1 Thatcher won their seventh boys' team title in school history and first since 2016, defeating No. 9 Tucson Pusch Ridge 5-1.

From start to finish, Thatcher had control, with only two matches ended up going to extras. Pusch Ridge won the No. 2 singles match.

Heading into the final match of the singles flight, the Eagles were up 4-1 and only needed one more to win the championship. In the final singles flight between the No. 5s, Thatcher's Brock Smith and Pusch Ridge's Collin Thompkins. The match went to extra points, with Smith defeating Thompkins 10-8 in the final set as Thatcher won the team title, finishing the season undefeated.

"These matches could have gone on either side," said head coach Chris Cook. "I'm super proud of the boys for their commitment. It was extremely hard after last year's loss in the final, but this time we were able to turn things around and get that much-needed victory. I couldn't be more proud."

Division III girls: Scottsdale Prep takes title

The No. 2-seeded Scottsdale Prep's girls' team won the school's second state title in D-III, defeating No. 1 seed Phoenix Country Day, 5-1 on matches. With the victory, the Spartans, which last won it all in 2021, ended the Eagles' bid to win their third straight state team title.

Both teams played earlier in the season, with the Eagles defeating the Spartans 6-3. However this time, Scottsdale Prep had all the momentum from start to finish. The Spartans' Nos. 1 through 5 doubles pairs won their matches. Scottsdale Prep's Nandini Patel and Samantha Ferro, who had previously lost in the doubles champions final, were among those winning on Saturday.

Noelle Oh, the Spartans' No. 2, won the singles championship to complete her undefeated season with the team.

"It felt really great, this team (Phoenix Country Day) has been a rival for us this season," said head coach Michael Puhala. "To win this in just the singles and not go into doubles also played a huge role for us. It showed that we won convincingly and that we will become that team to beat coming for next season."

Singles Championships

Division I boys: Rincon/University sophomore Vikram Narendran defeated Mountain Ridge senior Lincoln Baldonado (7-6, 6-1)

Division I girls: Boulder Creek freshman Japneet Kaur defeated Boulder Creek freshman Michelle Bullock (6-1, 6-2)

Division II boys: Catalina Foothills junior Austin Cohen defeated Eastmark sophomore Grady Callahan (6-1, 6-1)

Division II girls: Notre Dame Prep junior Georgia Cranford defeated Canyon View junior Zaria McGinty (6-1, 6-2)

Division III boys: Rancho Solano Prep sophomore Jaden Litt defeated Tanque Verde senior Joel Hetland (6-0, 6-1)

Division III girls: Scottsdale Prep sophomore Noelle Oh defeated Chandler Prep senior Sonali Bhalla (6-0, 6-0)

Doubles Championships

Division I boys: Brophy Prep junior Ryan Zerbib and senior Ken Akiyoshi defeated Hamilton senior Shravan Pulicherla and sophomore Rishabh Bendre (6-1, 6-2)

Division I girls: Xavier Prep senior Danielle Dyer and senior Belani Soto defeated Desert Mountain senior Chae Rin Youn and junior Hannah FitzGerald (6-3, 3-6, 10-4)

Division II boys: Paradise Valley senior Nimith Gurijala and junior Yash Totla defeated AZ College Prep junior Hayden Truong and junior Charles Schuler (6-2, 6-2)

Division II girls: Notre Dame Prep sophomore Gracie Cranford and freshman Ariana Maestas defeated Ironwood junior Sasha Tijore and freshman Sophia Tijore (6-0, 6-4)

Division III boys: Phoenix Country Day senior Jacques Sevrain and junior Linus Gino-Griffiths defeated Thatcher senior Gene Huish and sophomore Braden Huish (7-6, 6-3)

Division III girls: Pusch Ridge junior Estelle Fetsis and sophomore Emma Bartruff defeated Scottsdale Prep senior Nandini Patel and senior Samantha Ferro (7-5, 6-0)

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Brophy, Xavier, AZC Prep, Scottsdale Prep, Thatcher win tennis titles