LAFAYETTE — With more than enough postseason experience to go around, Peak to Peak is playing some of its best tennis at the right time.
On Monday, the third-seeded Pumas moved one step closer to their ultimate goal by beating familiar foe, No. 6 Prospect Ridge Academy, 7-0, in the Class 3A girls tennis team dual state tournament quarterfinals.
“All the kids are playing to the best of their ability, and that’s all you can ask for,” said first-year Peak to Peak head coach Mike Crotty. “I always tell the kids: ‘You’re really playing against yourself. Just try to play the best you can play.’”
Peak to Peak will next visit No. 2 Vail Christian in a semifinal matchup on May 7. The Saints knocked the Pumas out of last year’s tournament.
While all seven of the Pumas’ lines left their home court happy, the 7-0 final wasn’t exactly indicative of how competitive Monday’s dual was. In No. 3 singles, for example, Peak to Peak junior Ranye Ezenekwe barely snuck past Prospect Ridge freshman Shannon Schmidt, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-2.
Peak to Peak’s Lena Crotty was also pushed to her limits in a thrilling 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory over Miners junior Omi McGee at No. 1 singles.
“Me and Lena are always close playing,” McGee said. “We used to practice together and we’re friends, so it’s always a little more complicated going into that… She’s a great player and I put everything I had into it.”
In the lone singles match that didn’t require a set tiebreaker, Peak to Peak’s Sydney Lewis beat Maya Anderson, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2. Lewis, the defending 3A No. 2 singles state champ, improved to 17-0 on the season, according to MaxPreps.
“I’d say that I’m pretty confident, but I go into every match thinking that I could lose,” Lewis said. “I can’t step off the gas. Just because the record says I’m good, doesn’t mean that I really am.”
At No. 1 doubles, Sydney Parkinson and Ziba Ahamad defeated Yazhini Godwin Sahayaraj and Amelia Waggoner, 7-5, 6-2.
“She’s (Ahamad) graduating, so I’m just trying to make it her best year before she goes,” said Parkinson, a sophomore who secured the No. 1 doubles state title alongside Ezenekwe last season.
In the ultra-competitive No. 3 doubles match, Peak to Peak’s Lhadze Olsen and El Allen-Bonney beat Prospect Ridge’s Zerren Lutska and Natalie Rooks, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0. Josie Adams and Molly Kolachov beat Maddy Abramson and Emma Anderson at No. 2 doubles (6-1, 6-3). Abby Fitzgerald joined Jolie Sasseville in Peak to Peak’s No. 4 doubles win (6-1, 6-1) over Nicole Scott and Elsie Schuler.
Despite the loss, McGee remained proud that she and her teammates helped Prospect Ridge reach its first-ever team dual state tournament.
“This is our first year ever making it to team state, so it’s a really big deal,” McGee said. “Everyone was putting their heart out today.”
