By Sydney Booth
What Happened: After sending every team member to state for the first time in two decades, Eaton tennis finished its season strong at state on May 12-14. Number-one doubles team Emily Harper (16) and Courtney Leafgren (16) finished with a third place win. Number-two doubles partners Kinsey Mawson (17) and Darcie Kaiser (18) accomplished making it past the first round, an incredible accomplishment despite the incredible competition in the 4A division.
By the Numbers: Harper and Leafgren came out swinging in the first round, vanquishing their opponents from D’Evelyn High School in Denver with scores of 6-1, 6-4. In the quarterfinals, they beat Colorado Academy (from Denver) with scores of 6-3, 6-4. They put up a fight against Kent Denver, but lost with set scores of 5-7, 2-6. Kent Denver went on to win second place in the tournament, with first place going to Cheyenne Mountain. In the playback bracket, Harper and Leafgren beat Pueblo West 6-3, 6-3. By the end game of their tournament, they played Holy Family: the team that gave them their only loss in the regular season. Eaton beat Holy Family 7-6, 6-2 and won the third place title. Leafgren said, “Our first set [against Holy Family] we were a little nervous, but we came back stronger after finding a way to finish the first set.” After the win, Harper said, “As a duo I think our attitudes were great! We knew when to be focused and and to bring each other up. It was a great end to my senior season, and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to finish the year with.”
Number-two doubles Mawson and Kaiser made it past the first round, beating Aspen with a score of 6-1, 6-3. They lost to Cheyenne Mountain in the quarterfinals 2-6, 0-6, but did well in the midst of intense competition. Kaiser said, “It felt really good to make it past the first round because, at 4A state tennis, there is so much competition so it felt good to accomplish that goal. Even though we didn’t get first, we were just so happy to be there as a team and represent Eaton High School. I’m looking forward to just playing with everyone again.” Mawson said, “This was a successful season for me because Darcie and I grew stronger as a team and accomplished our goal of regional champions and qualifying for state. Next season, I’m looking forward to making it a great last year for the seniors.”
Team Atmosphere: With the whole team checked into a hotel waiting for the big games, there were bound to be some good times. Ashton Hall (16) said, “Having everyone there made it a lot more fun and we had a lot of laughs the whole time. We had a Friday movie night and I would say the whole trip made everyone closer. Although she and her number-two doubles partner Kadie Griffith (18) did not make it past the first round, Hall has a positive attitude about the whole experience. “We may not have made it super far into state, but I’m really proud that we even made it and that we were regional champions,” Hall said. “I would call it a successful season for sure.”
Social Call: 
Up Next: Next season, the Lady Reds will move down to 3A tennis. They will play a smaller selection of teams in the regular season, and will most likely not face the same level of competition at state next year.
For more information on 2016 state tennis, click here.
