(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
PUEBLO — For Cheyenne Mountain, it was just another annual walk in Pueblo City Park.
The Indians won every doubles championship Saturday en route to capturing their eighth-straight Class 4A girls tennis championship. Kent Denver won two singles titles, including freshman Josie Schaffer taking the No. 1 singles crown. The Sun Devils finished second with 62 points to Cheyenne Mountain’s 85.
Coming into the day, Kent Denver trailed by 13 points and could win 16. SO for the Indians, they knew it was important to get an early victory to wrap up the championship. The No. 1 doubles team of Casey Ahrendsen and Ally Arenson were able to take care of business, beating Kent Denver’s Maeve Kearney and Amanda Schlatter to solidify the title.
“We have a lot of people that go into the drawing area and see all the points and all the possibilities,” Ahrendsen said. “Then we kind of just get our energy off of that.”
That win was one of the first matches completed on the day, so with the team title now out of play, the Sun Devils could focus their attention on winning individual championships. The highlight of the day came with Schaffer beating Pueblo West’s Sara Schoenbeck 6-4 6-2 to claim the top individual title, doing so in her freshman campaign.
Josie Schaffer (right) won the No. 1 singles championship. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
“It’s kind of unexpected that freshmen get this far in a tournament,” Schaffer said.
She found herself matched up against another highly-touted freshman in Cheyenne Mountain’s Morgan Hall in Friday’s semifinals. She ended up winning the match 7-6 6-1 to advance to the finals, giving her a boost of confidence in the process.
“Morgan’s a really great player,” Schaffer said. “I love playing her because I love how much we construct the points and how well they turn out.”
It’s the first No. 1 singles title for Kent Denver since Sammie Watson won it in 2009. The pressure will now be on Schaffer to repeat the accomplishment in coming years. But right now, she’s more concerned at celebrating her accomplishment.
“I’m just going to try and enjoy this right now,” she said.
And that was the theme for the Indians too. Even though it’s the team’s eighth title in as many years, it’s a feeling that never gets old.
As each tournament plays out, just the difference in competition helps every championship feel unique.
“Last year, we had a really tough match against Valor in the semifinals,” Arenson said. “This year, our finals match was the toughest. Just the competition this year is (against) different teams.”
The Indians had to get through their final day without coach David Adams, who flew out of Denver on Friday to attend his daughter’s graduation.
But he was kept in the loop by his assistants and was still proud of the way his team handed itself going into the final day.
“It’s obviously a great feeling,” he said in a phone interview. “I’m really proud of these girls and how they’ve come along this season. I know it sounds cliche, but I feel like they’ve together very well.”
With Cherry Creek’s second place finish at the 5A championship, Cheyenne Mountain is now the longest active reigning girls tennis champion in the state.