Ponderosa’s Erin Sanders does not act like a freshman, and does not play tennis like one, either.
Just 14 years old, Sanders walked into the Class 5A girls state tournament Thursday at Gates Tennis Center and cruised through the first two rounds of No. 1 singles play with ease, including a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Cherry Creek’s Elizabeth Marsico in the quarterfinals.
The precocious Sanders was unfazed by the events of the day.
“I wasn’t really concerned with the crowds,” she said. “That didn’t worry me. … I’ve known Elizabeth for a long time and I’ve always wanted to play her, and then I got to play her twice in one month.”
Marsico defeated Sanders in three sets two weeks ago.
Sanders beat Air Academy’s Katie Brown 6-2, 7-5 in the first round. Then her speed, first-serve power and aggressive backhand were evident as she sent Marsico racing back and forth along the baseline. She overwhelmed Marsico, a sophomore who won the No. 3 singles title last season, in the first set with her ball placement, trading one deep corner for the other.
Sanders committed a handful of unforced errors, going long or into the net, but otherwise controlled the action from the baseline. Even when something did not work, she responded with something that did.
A fault on her first serve would be followed with an ace on the second. Or she would recover from a bad hit with a net-charging, cross-court winner or an untouchable backhand that would end a rally.
“My hands are really good at the net, but I’m more comfortable at the baseline,” said Sanders, who lost two matches this season. “Also, I’m fast, so it is to my advantage to get someone moving.”
Though just a ninth-grader, Sanders made it clear her goal is nothing less than a state title, which would be the first for Ponderosa. Sanders will play Fairview sophomore Carolyn Warren in the semifinals at 9 a.m. today. The finals start at noon Saturday.
Cherry Creek, with 23 state titles, including the past nine, advanced six of the seven positions to the semifinals and are in prime position to win again. The big points come today and Saturday, but the Bruins lead with 13, three ahead of Fort Collins. Air Academy, Chatfield, Grand Junction and Lewis-Palmer are close behind.
In other matches, Christin Thompson of Lewis-Palmer won both of her No. 1 singles matches in straight sets, as did her semifinals opponent, Veronika Wojakowska of Palmer.
Cherry Creek’s Rachael Loeb is on track to defend her No. 2 singles title after two dominant matches, and Air Academy’s top doubles team of freshman Suzanne Iwata and sophomore Stephanie Todd earned the chance to play Cherry Creek’s Stacey Berlinger and Christina Macey, the defending champions.
Iwata and Todd overcame a lopsided first-set loss to Lewis-Palmer’s Niki Taylor and Megan Underhill and battled through a third-set tiebreaker to reach the semifinals.
“My nerves were definitely getting to me,” Iwata said.
