Indians end suspense in 4A.(Sports) - Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)

Byline: Tracy Renck, Special To The Rocky

PUEBLO -- Watching Kent Denver and Mullen bask in state glory recently didn't sit well with the storied Cheyenne Mountain girls tennis program.

The past five seasons, Kent Denver won state four times and Mullen once, while Cheyenne Mountain finished an agonizing second each time.

'We weren't going to finish second again, there was no way we were going to let that happen,' said Alana Humpal, Cheyenne Mountain's No. 3 singles player.

The Indians made sure of that by taking care of business Friday in the semifinals.

The Indians, who were competing in each of the seven brackets, advanced players from six of those matches into the finals, which begin at 9 a.m. today. Cheyenne Mountain's No. 4 doubles team will be playing for third place.

Because of that impressive performance, the Indians clinched the state title with 66 points. Greeley West was second through Friday, with 46 points, but even if the Spartans won all their matches today, they could total only 59 points.

'People will look and see what we did (Friday) and they will think that we dominated, but that wasn't the case,' Cheyenne Mountain coach Dave Adams said. 'We had a ton of close matches and we just snuck them out. It feels great to win state, and I am especially happy for the seven seniors on the team.'

Cheyenne Mountain has won 13 girls state championships and it has placed no worse than third since 1984. Overall, it is the 26th state tennis championship for Cheyenne Mountain. The boys program also has won 13 state crowns, including the past two.

Adams is in his first season coaching the girls, but he has led the boys program since 1987.

'We worked hard in practice since the start of the season and the girls responded to the expectations we placed on them,' Adams said.

Mary Russell, the Indians' No. 2 singles player, is trying to repeat as a state champion. Russell, a junior, won a year ago at No. 3 singles.

Cheyenne Mountain's No. 3 doubles senior tandem of Alison Seiler and Kristen Boe also is aiming for consecutive championships. Seiler and Boe won state at No. 2 doubles last season.

'I just want to stay focused and be consistent (today) and stay in my zone,' said Russell, whose family is moving to Plano, Texas, after the school year.

Greeley West could have made matters interesting today since it had five brackets - No. 1 singles, No. 3 singles and No. 2 through No. 4 doubles - alive in the semifinals, but only Mattison Sperry (No. 1 singles), Jennah Kitchell (No. 3 singles) and Lexi Graham and Christine Kato (No. 2 doubles) made it through to the finals.

'We definitely wanted to win the team championship, but that didn't happen,' said Sperry, a 5-foot freshman. 'I just want to play well (today) and mix up my shots.'

Sperry will clash with Casey Wetzig, a senior from Cheyenne Mountain.

'I just need to play every point and stay focused,' said Wetzig, who won state at No. 3 singles as a freshman and sophomore. 'I know I will be a lot more relaxed since we have wrapped up the team title.'

CLASS 4A STATE TENNIS

at the City Park Complex in Pueblo

Team scores: 1. Cheyenne Mountain 66. 2. Greeley West 46. 3. Steamboat Springs 33. 4. Niwot 31. 5. Ralston Valley 16. 6. Mullen 12. 7. Pueblo South 10. 8, tie, Broomfield, Fountain Valley 9. 10. Regis 8.

11. Kent Denver 6. 12, tie, Colorado Academy, Fossil Ridge, Pueblo West 3. 15, tie, Montrose, Aspen, Pueblo Centennial 2. 18, tie, Pueblo County, Rock Canyon 1.

SEMIFINALS

No. 1 singles: Casey Wetzig, Cheyenne Mountain def. Clarke Tatje, Fountain Valley, 6-0, 6-1; Mattison Sperry, Greeley West def. Lisa Floyd, Steamboat Springs, 6-4, 6-0.

No. 2 singles: Mary Russell, Cheyenne Mountain def. Claire Runge, Niwot, 6-1, 6-0; Breanne Murray, Steamboat Springs def. Cari Hudson, Mullen, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-2.

No. 3 singles: Jennah Kitchell, Greeley West def. Kristin Erickson, Broomfield, 6-0, 6-2; Alana Humpal, Cheyenne Mountain def. Kelly Sweeney, Mullen, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

No. 1 doubles: Meha Semwal/Kristina Barber, Cheyenne Mountain def. Molly Weiss/Kristin Toy, Steamboat Springs, 6-4, 7-5; Katie Anselmo/Molly Doyle, Ralston Valley def. Kara Combs/Brooke Simecka, Fossil Ridge, 6-0, 6-3.

No. 2 doubles: Lexi Graham/Christine Kato, Greeley West def. Maggie Pinnick/Taylor Oliver, Niwot, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5; Kelli Sylvester/Jen Marquit, Cheyenne Mountain def. Kelly Nightengale/Kimber Robbins, Mullen, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

No. 3 doubles: Alison Seiler/Kristen Boe, Cheyenne Mountain def. Candice Krammer/Alexandra Lehnert, Greeley West, 6-1, 6-1; Alex Forke/Whitney Fredericks, Niwot def. Kira Eck/Shelby Shriver, Ralston Valley, 6-1, 6-4.

No. 4 doubles: Erin McNary/Jenna Cavalli, Broomfield def. Megan Esser/Colleen Fisher, Colorado Academy, 6-2, 6-4; Nicole Ferguson/Baylee Thenell, Regis def. Mary Mekeal/Alyson Wolach, Greeley West, 6-3, 6-4.

INFOBOX

Class 4A championship pairings * No. 1 singles: Casey Wetzig, Cheyenne Mountain, Sr. (18-2) vs. Mattison Sperry, Greeley West, Fr. (18-2). * No. 2 singles: Mary Russell, Cheyenne Mountain, Jr. (18-3) vs. Breanne Murray, Steamboat Springs, Sr. (15-1). * No. 3 singles: Jennah Kitchell, Greeley West, Sr. (20-0) vs. Alana Humpal, Cheyenne Mountain, Sr. (18-4). * No. 1 doubles: Meha Semwal/Kristina Barber, Cheyenne Mountain (17-4) vs. Katie Anselmo/Molly Doyle, Ralston Valley (18-4). * No. 2 doubles: Kelli Sylvester/Jennifer Marquit, Cheyenne Mountain (20-2) vs. Lexi Graham/Christine Kato, Greeley West (20-2). * No. 3 doubles: Alison Seiler/Kristen Boe, Cheyenne Mountain (18-2) vs. Alex Forke/Whitney Fredericks, Niwot (18-2). * No. 4 doubles: Erin McNary/Jenna Cavalli, Broomfield (19-0) vs. Nicole Ferguson/Baylee Thenell, Regis (15-1).

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Breanne Murray of Steamboat Springs returns to Cari Hudson of Mullen in a No. 2 singles semifinal match Friday. Murray won 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-2. CHRIS MCLEAN / THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN