Ralston Valley seniors Haley Weidemann and Adrien Horowitz are volleyball players — who are headed to a state championship match in doubles tennis.
Tuesday, the senior duo advanced to the No. 1 doubles final in the Class 5A girls tennis state tournament with a commanding win over powerhouse Cherry Creek at Gates Tennis Center in Denver.
“They had never played tennis before (their freshman year),” Ralston Valley tennis coach Kim Greason said. “Their vision on the court, seeing all the holes — that comes from playing volleyball.”
Weidemann and Horowitz sailed past Chatfield in the first round (6-1, 6-2). They defeated Highlands Ranch in the quarterfinals (6-1, 6-0). Finally, they took down the Cherry Creek doubles team Maddie Roberts and Micha Handler (6-4, 6-1).
“We came from volleyball and they put us together because Kim thought we’d work well with each other,” Horowitz said.
Weidemann and Horowitz tried out for the tennis team their freshmen year and made junior varsity. As sophomores, they made the varsity team, and last year they took third in No. 4 doubles at the state tournament, getting knocked out of the semifinals by — you guessed it — Cherry Creek.
If any team was going to take down Cherry Creek this year, it was going to be this doubles team.
“I would say they’re probably the best doubles team I’ve had in 12 years,” Greason said.
Weidemann and Horowitz have only one loss this season, against Cheyenne Mountain. Their finals opponents — Fossil Ridge senior Sam Penhale and junior Bailey Koronich — also lost to Cheyenne Mountain, but also beat Cherry Creek.
“But we had a much tougher time beating them,” Penhale said of Creek.
“(Weidemann and Horowitz) destroyed Creek,” Koronich added.
Penhale and Koronich beat Heritage in the first round (6-4, 6-2) and defeated Arapahoe in the quarterfinals (6-2, 6-2). But the Lady Sabercats split sets with underdog Greeley West in the semifinals (6-1, 5-7, 6-2).
Penhale and Koronich said the biggest thing they will have to worry about in the final is footwork and mentality.
“Ralston Valley doesn’t make mistakes,” Penhale said. “They know just how to keep it out of your reach.”
Fairview freshman Amber Shen defeated Mountain Vista sophomore Casey Zhong 6-0, 6-1 and will play of Cherry Creek in the 5A No. 1 singles final on Wednesday.
“I really look up to her,” Shen said of Hall, , who transferred from Class 4A Cheyenne Mountain last year and is seeking her third state title in No. 1 singles.
Wednesday’s finals will be a showcase of the dominance of Cherry Creek’s and Fairview’s tennis programs. Cherry Creek maintained a 12-point lead over Fairview after the semifinals. Fairview (61 points) can still defeat Cherry Creek (73 points) in finals and playbacks.
Creek freshman Anshika Singh and Fairview junior Natalie Munson will play for the No. 2 singles title. In No. 3 singles, Creek junior Gloria Son and Fairview sophmore Angela Cai will play. No. 2 doubles will be Creek’s Jessie Murphy and Mariela Hollines against Fairview’s Carolyn Roberts and Ellie Savage. And No. 3 doubles will see the Creek team of Julia Mannino and Sarah Grace Walker face Fairview duo Sarah Sharpe and Skylar Caledonia).
Morgan Dzakowic: 303-954-1275, mdzakowic@denverpost.com or twitter.com/morgandzak
