Natalie Dunn’s quarterfinal match Thursday at the Class 5A state girls tennis championship was more mental than physical. For her opponent, Palmer’s Veronica Wojakowska, it was the opposite.
In the end, Dunn’s mental game came together. The sophomore from Poudre High School in Fort Collins overcame a blown opportunity in the first set to pull out a thrilling 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 win to advance to today’s semifinals in No. 1 singles.
But Dunn might not have had this opportunity if she didn’t overcome the disappointment of blowing a first-set lead.
“I think the energy part for me today was mental,” Dunn said. “I was up by three in the first set. I think that hung around in my head too long. I don’t think I should ever dwell on missed opportunities.
“I just had to tell myself to keep fighting — that I wanted it more.”
Momentum had shifted to Wojakowska, the 2006 champion. But it didn’t stay there.
Dunn broke serve in the third game of the second set en route to a 6-4 win. The third set, as it turned out, was a mere formality. Dunn’s powerful serve proved to be too much for a tired Wojakowska, according to Palmer coach Holly Strack.
“Knowing that her legs were going out on her made her really tight going into the third set,” Strack said. “And Veronica doesn’t let things get by her. I could see just watching her that her legs were tight.”
Dunn will face Cherry Creek’s Caroline Schnell, who lost just one game in two matches to reach today’s semifinals. In the quarterfinals against Pine Creek’s Ryann Warner, Schnell won 20 of the last 22 points, peppering her opponent with a flurry of baseline drives.
Her victory over Warner came after the tournament was delayed nearly 90 minutes because of rain.
“After waiting for so long and finally getting on the court, I knew what I had to do,” Schnell said.
In today’s other semifinal, defending state champion Erin Sanders of Ponderosa will face Fairview’s Carolyn Warren. Sanders advanced to the semifinals with wins over Fort Collins’ Amanda Aragon and Lewis-Palmer’s Deanna Thirkell, while Warren defeated Arapahoe’s Sarah Ray and Northglenn’s Laura Tartiere.
Thirkell, however, scored the tournament’s first upset with her 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 first-round win over Chatfield’s Kelsey Brading.
Because of the earlier rain delay, the second round of doubles was postponed until 8 a.m. this morning. Today’s singles semifinals are slated to begin at 9 a.m., as originally scheduled.
Cherry Creek, shooting for a 12th straight team title, is second after the first day with eight points, two back of Ponderosa.
