PUEBLO — Sammie Watson brought her machine-like game to the City Park Tennis Complex on Friday morning as the Kent Denver sophomore advanced to today’s championship match at No. 1 singles in the Class 4A girls state tournament.
Watson, who claimed the title as a freshman, has been beaten just once in her prep career, and she’ll take on Jessika Mozia, a Colorado Academy freshman, in the 9 a.m. final. Watson has beaten Mozia twice this season.
Their championship match will take the spotlight since Cheyenne Mountain put away the school’s 14th title Friday with a blitz of points that was as impressive as Watson’s performance.
The Indians piled up 58 points through Friday afternoon’s playback matches, with Fossil Ridge at 33. It was a satisfying effort for the Indians, who were fifth a year ago.
“The difference was, we had two girls returning last year and this year we had eight,” Cheyenne Mountain coach Dave Adams said. “They worked hard over the summer.”
The Indians held a 15-point advantage after the semifinals and advanced into the championship round. Emily Venner will play for the No. 3 singles title and the Indians also have finalists at Nos. 2, 3 and 4 doubles.
After her 6-1, 6-2 victory over Cheynenne Mountain’s Kristina Barber in the semifinals, Watson said she was surprised at Mozia’s upset victory over Fountain Valley’s Clarke Tatje in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Watson defeated Tatje in last year’s title match.
“I thought I’d be playing Clarke again,” Watson said.
A national-level player, Watson said she enjoys playing with the Sun Devils.
“It’s nice to relax and play here with all of my friends,” she said.
While Watson has cruised through the upper half of the No. 1 singles bracket, Mozia had a challenging semifinal against Mattison Sperry of Greeley West, winning 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-4 in two hours.
The gritty Sperry, who was runner-up as a freshman, has battled a shoulder injury this season and perfected an unorthodox, underhanded serve.
The serve is loaded with topspin, and Mozia said it gave her trouble early in the match.
“I figured out it had spin like a lefty,” Mozia said.
The tall, lanky Mozia has been troubled by balky knees but said she thought she would be OK for today’s title match.
