Dave Adams dealing with girls' tennis first at Cheyenne Mountain, embracing challenge of youngsters manning singles spots
May 9—Dave Adams will only do "finger math" if he needs to.
When asked how many years he's been at Cheyenne Mountain he'll do the calculation on his hands before telling you 36 years. When asked how many times he has had a freshman in each of his singles' slots, he can tell you without much thought: It's never happened before.
The Red-Tailed Hawks have won numerous titles under coach Adams, but the challenge this time required some help. Sophie Zhou, Alyssa Sadri and Saffron Heroldt combined to go 40-8 this season across the three singles spots, and he enlisted his seniors and juniors to mentor the group of three starting back in the fall. Zhou also received some guidance from her older, state-champion brother Steven.
Seniors Brooke Ballenger and Hannah Koury are the captains. They help put together team dinners and lunches after events, given rides to the younger players and wiped away the first-year tears that may come from some early career losses. When Heroldt has questions about America as a student from South Africa, they have those answers, too.
The combination of youth and experience is a new one for Adams, but one that he hasn't seen reason to question. The freshmen rose to the top through practice-to-practice competitions, and their energy has allowed the other athletes across the roster to get a jolt.
"I think these girls have just brought a new energy and they've just been the perfect players to coach, they're such a pleasure," Adams said. "Not everything they do is perfect, but they have the right mindset and they care about getting better, and will do whatever they can to fix things when you bring them up. That's a great place to start."
It's a coincidence, then, that the first for Adams is also first for the girls' team. The new state tournament is split into team and individual brackets, with the two events even overlapping at times. All this while preparing for the 5 a.m. alarm on Thursday to get up and head to Pueblo City Park for a chance at individual glory.
Just as the freshman trio learns the ropes of high school tennis, the juniors and seniors are learning a new way to finalize a season. Last year, they simply outdueled the teams at the individual tournament and collected the most points because of it. Points are gone, and the only ones that matter now are the seven available at the start of the duel — a win equals a point, effectively. First one to 4 points wins.
"It feels like more pressure, because every match counts in the team tournament. There are no playbacks — if you win, you win and if you don't, you don't," Koury said. "It's all about finding that focus and balance, and we've all been together in figuring that out. The individual is very similar though."
Individual finals this weekend aren't anything he hasn't faced before, but winning a team tournament is a new challenge for Adams. That, on top of the test he faced when figuring out an 11-girl lineup that included three freshmen in singles and a fourth in doubles.
The older group will do its best to make the individual tournament feel big, even if the finger math isn't needed to calculate a team champion anymore. That's the formula the team's cooked up this year to battle its rarity.
It's all part of what has kept Adams coming back since 1987.
Individual tennis state qualifiers
3A — Memorial Park, Colorado Springs
No. 1 singles
Jordan VanManen, senior, Vanguard
Olivia Davolos, sophomore, St. Mary's
No. 2 singles
Christina Fernandez, senior, Fountain Valley
Ainsley Skur, senior, Vanguard
No. 3 singles
Mei Sather, sophomore, Fountain Valley
Hailey Blanchard, senior, Vanguard
No. 1 doubles
Jillian Harrison, junior/Grace Messner, junior, Vanguard
Eva Mucino, sophomore/Trayee Reddy, sophomore, Fountain Valley
No. 2 doubles
Ciera Hale, senior/Adelaide Evans, junior, Vanguard
No. 3 doubles
Hannah Momber, junior/Adhista Eadala, junior, Colorado Springs School
Emily Buckwalter, junior/Yining Zhang, sophomore, Vanguard
No. 4 doubles
Axelle Menguin, sophomore/Anisa Quddus, junior, Fountain Valley
Sydney Buesser, senior/Jaliyah Cantillo, senior, Vanguard
4A — City Park, Pueblo
No. 1 singles
Haylee Hussmann, junior, Air Academy
Sophie Zhou, freshman, Cheyenne Mountain
Scarlet Leifer, senior, Coronado
Ellie Flinn, senior, Lewis-Palmer
Alexis Ellison, senior, Palmer Ridge
No. 2 singles
Tavia Kiser, sophomore, Air Academy
Alyssa Sadri, freshman, Cheyenne Mountain
Lannie Wilson, senior, Discovery Canyon
Maddie Thompson, senior, Lewis-Palmer
Ulla Schultz, sophomore, Palmer Ridge
No. 3 singles
Lily Kate Fackelman, freshman, Air Academy
Saffron Heroldt, freshman, Cheyenne Mountain
Hannah Ringstrom, sophomore, Discovery Canyon
Meadow Humbert, junior, Lewis-Palmer
Juliya Yuskiv, sophomore, Palmer Ridge
No. 1 doubles
Molly Wells, junior/Madelyn Chang, sophomore, Air Academy
Jocelyn Kelly, junior/Rose Katen, freshman, Cheyenne Mountain
Ashleigh Sincock, senior/Caroline Marshall, junior, Discovery Canyon
Tayla Heritsch, junior/Alex Milner, sophomore, Lewis-Palmer
No. 2 doubles
Tessa Stahnke, senior/Ashlyn Denny, senior, Air Academy
Brooke Ballenger, senior/Hope Lewis, senior, Cheyenne Mountain
Carly Creps, sophomore/Audrey Wolff, freshman, Discovery Canyon
Madison Dodge, junior/Alysee Abbott, junior, Lewis-Palmer
No. 3 doubles
Karis Plankeel, senior/Bronwyn Whisenaut, freshman, Air Academy
Hannah Koury, senior/Katie Delich, senior, Cheyenne Mountain
Ellie Ackerman, sophomore/Kate Oliger, sophomore, Lewis-Palmer
No. 4 doubles
Nola Bender, sophomore/Carly Halemartin, sophomore, Air Academy
Daisy Hodsdon, junior/Shea Devanny, junior, Cheyenne Mountain
Laena Linnenburger, sophomore/Lily Gruber, sophomore, Discovery Canyon
Karlynn Aoki, sophomore/Kristina Cozzolino, sophomore, Lewis-Palmer
Mei-Li Mikos, junior/Rhian Wiltz, freshman, Palmer Ridge
5A — City Park, Denver
No. 2 singles
Keelin Sills, sophomore, Pine Creek
No. 3 singles
Ellie Ruge, sophomore, Pine Creek
No. 3 doubles
Victoria Darling, freshman/Kenzie Cameron, freshman, Pine Creek
No. 4 doubles
Ava Ewald, senior/Shayna Kudumula, freshman, Pine Creek
