Nineteen positions and 29 players from the Fort Collins area qualified for the Colorado High School State Individuals Tennis Championships in Classes 3A and 5A.
Regional tournaments were held across the state last week and local teams had a bevy of qualifiers for the three-day state tournament taking place Thursday, May 11 through Saturday, May 13 in Denver.
The top two finishers from each line — three singles and four doubles — at the Regionals advanced.
Here’s a look at all of the state qualifiers in the Fort Collins area, along with the state tournament format and schedule.
Fossil Ridge
The SaberCats dominated the action in Region 5 at North Park Lake.
Not only did they send all seven lines to the state, they also won the regional title in all seven lines, strengthening their seeding in the state for potential deep runs.
Here are Fossil Ridge’s regional winners and state qualifiers:
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MaKenna Collins (No.1 singles)
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Sophie Hartman (No. 2 singles)
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Kate Davis (No. 3 singles)
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Becca Fahrner and Abby Seager (No.1 Doubles)
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Bela Lorey and Libby Sollenberger (No. 2 doubles)
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Avery MacKenzie and Afton Sidwell (No. 3 doubles)
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Sam Udupa and Lara Seager (No.4 Doubles)
Fossil Ridge was also No. 6 in the team class after a 10-2 regular season that included a 7-0 league record and a second-place finish in the Front Range League championship.
The SaberCats defeated No. 11 Boulder (7-0) in the first round of the national team tournament before being beaten in the quarterfinals by tennis powerhouse No. 3 Valor Christian (5-2).
powder
The Impalas put on an impressive regional performance, winning two lines and sending a total of five lines to the state.
Here are the Poudre State qualifiers from the Region 8 action in Denver:
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Avery Hickman (first #1 single)
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Avery Leman and Avery Jackson (first doubles #4)
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Jasmine Cheng (2nd, No. 2 singles)
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Macy Pitts and Kavi Voglund (second doubles No.1)
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Phoenix Wall and Ellie Beauprez (second doubles #3)
Poudre was also the only other local team to make it into the team tournament, drawing a No. 12 seed and being beaten by No. 5 Mountain Vista (6-1) in the opening round.
Rocky Mountain
The Lobos advanced four lines and six players to show off regional runners-up, including two freshmen.
Rocky had the unenviable task of taking on town rivals Fossil Ridge in Region 5 of Loveland.
Here are the Rocky Mountain State Qualifiers:
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Faith Galyardt (No. 1 singles)
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Janey Dunn (No. 3 singles)
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Rachel Hodsden and Isabelle Kinder (No.1 Doubles)
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Eliza Katonah-Murphy and Hanna Schneider (#4 doubles)
FortCollins
The Lambkins qualified two lines and three players in second place, led by some household names.
Here are the Fort Collins qualifiers from Region 3 action at Valor Christian:
Timnath
The Cubs freshman program faced a tough 3A Region 4 at Eaton, with three team tournament qualifiers in their region.
Timnath had a sophomore qualifier Anna Davis who finished second in the No. 2 singles. She will compete in the 3A State Tournament in Colorado Springs.
Although she did not qualify for the state, Sarah Daniels, a Cubs sophomore, also spent most of the season in the 3A Top 10 in the No. 1 singles line.
5A State Tennis Tournament Format Schedule
The 5A State Tennis Singles Tournament will be held May 11-13 at Denver City Park.
As usual, playbacks are in effect, meaning that a loss does not knock a player out of contention for the spot, although it does eliminate them from the title fight.
The 16-position bracket for each line begins Thursday with first-round action, followed by the quarterfinals.
Semi-finals and playbacks make for a busy Friday, while all finals and playback finals take place on Saturday. The game starts at 9 a.m. every day, weather permitting.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado Tennis: Fossil Ridge Leads Fort Collins Area State Qualifiers
