A couple of newcomers worked their way into the top singles championship, and one familiar face is assured a state title.
Palmer junior Veronika Wojakowska and Ponderosa freshman Erin Sanders made their first appearances at the Class 5A girls state tennis tournament count with semifinals victories Friday at the Gates Tennis Center. They will meet at noon today on center court for the No. 1 singles title.
“My original goal was to make it to state. Now my goal is to win,” said Wojakowska, who is undefeated this season. The Cherry Creek Bruins secured their 10th straight team title, the 24th in the program’s history. The Bruins did it by advancing six of the seven positions to today’s final for 66 points.
Fort Collins is in second place with 36 points, with Ponderosa a point behind, and Air Academy, Chatfield, Grand Junction, Lewis-Palmer and Palmer all putting up respectable points.
Wojakowska traded vicious baseline forehands with Christin Thompson of Lewis-Palmer on the way to a 6-1, 6-4 victory.
In the other semifinal, Sanders dropped the first set to Carolyn Warren of Fairview and had to battle through a tiebreaker in the second set before winning 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
At No. 2 singles, Sanders’ teammate Morgan Forsyth will face defending champion Rachael Loeb of Cherry Creek after both won in straight sets.
Air Academy’s Sindhya Shoptaugh rallied to beat Madeline Sprowell of Fort Collins in three sets and she will face Cherry Creek junior Morganne Downing in the No. 3 singles championship.
All four Cherry Creek doubles teams cruised through the first three rounds without dropping a set, setting the Bruins up for a doubles sweep for the third year in a row.
Top doubles team Stacey Berlinger and Christina Macey are looking to repeat, and Macey is chasing her fourth doubles title. The other Cherry Creek teams in the finals are Brooke Shafner and Victoria Sargent at No. 2; Julie Swinehart and Delaney Downing at No. 3; and Caitlain Schnell and Stephanie Pepper at No. 4.
Fort Collins’ No. 1 doubles team of Hillary Kramer and Roxie Phillips took the first set from Grand Junction’s Emily Orbanek and Cierra Hall 6-3, but lost the second-set tiebreaker 6-7 (5) before advancing with a 6-4 third-set victory.
Grand Junction’s No. 3 doubles team faired better. Audrey Keenan and Jenny Jessup edged Chatfield’s Sarah Layman and Jesse Apted 7-6 (5), 7-5.
“The whole season Jenny and I thought we could win state,” Keenan said.
“You always want to think that,” Jessup added.
