Girls tennis: Niwot regional sees qualifiers from Niwot, Silver Creek, Centaurus and Erie

May 4—NIWOT — Regional tennis can often feel like life or death, especially in the new era of separated individual and team state tournaments.

On Thursday, in the Class 4A Region 5 tournament at Niwot High School, ladies from Silver Creek, Centaurus, Niwot and Erie all extended their season by qualifying for the individual 4A state tournament, which is set to begin in Pueblo next Thursday.

For some, like Silver Creek sophomore Katie Reitz, the qualification validated all the hard work they had put in all season to get there. After breezing past Centaurus senior Sarah Nickerson in a 6-1 first set of their No. 1 singles finals match, Reitz found herself switching up her strategy in the second, when Nickerson began to fight back.

Still, Reitz managed to hold off Nickerson's comeback and squash it with a 7-6 (7-3) second set to secure her 1 singles regional crown. Nickerson, having avoided a playback, solidified her first — and only — trip to state with the runner-up effort.

All she had to do was shake off the early-morning fog.

"I thought just in the second set, I had more consistency, and I was more focused. I finally woke up and was warmed up again. It was still a lot of fun. It was really close. She's just a really good player," Nickerson said. "I'm really excited about it. I haven't been able to go before because I was an alternate last year. I wasn't expecting to go this year, but I'm really excited to be able to do that."

Reitz earned a spot at the state tournament last year, but illness got in the way of advancing past the second round of the 2 singles competition. Now, as the headliner for the Raptors, she'll get the chance to test her stock against 4A's best players.

She believes Thursday's match against Nickerson — and being forced to adapt a new approach in the second set — can only help sharpen her for what she'll see in Pueblo.

"I'm just a sophomore, so playing in state is already crazy for me at 1 singles. I think I just want to go have some fun, learn something and not hold myself to too high expectations," Reitz said. "I think it's my forehand because I like hitting short balls and then being able to just put away forehands down the line or cross-court, and it makes me feel really confident because that's my good shot."

Fresh to the scene

The Region 5 tournament provided plenty of tough competition, and no line perhaps proved that more than 2 singles. In a battle of freshman vs. senior, Niwot newcomer Sahasra Kolli held her own against Silver Creek veteran Liana Kelly, who finished her regular season undefeated in dual play.

Their finals match provided quite the tumultuous result.

Kolli jumped out to a quick, 6-0 lead through the first set then, when she found herself up three games to zero in the second, Kelly found her shot again. Kelly stormed back to claim the second set 7-5 before Kolli was able to end her regional title run, once and for all, with a 6-4 win in the third.

Kolli believes her groundstrokes can help her size up to the competition she'll see next week.

"It was tough, but I've been in that situation before," she said. "Luckily, I was able to learn, take my previous experiences and help me through it."

The best kind of surprise

When Erie's Addie Rice and Ashley Stowell first entered the regional tournament at No. 3 doubles, they didn't expect to make it far as the No. 6 seed in their line.

They seemed to gain strength in each round, first beating Niwot, then Silver Creek, before facing Centaurus in the finals. They made quick work of Centaurus' Grace Kadlec and Mallorie Solem with a 6-1, 6-0 decision to earn their state tournament berth.

They'd only been partners for an estimated three months before winning a regional title.

"It feels absolutely amazing," Rice, a sophomore, said. "I was astonished by our connection that we built throughout the season. We didn't work together for that long and it felt amazing to just work together in my first year of varsity."

Rice lauded their mid-game communication, and believed her cross-court, aggressive shots complemented Stowell's baseline and net play. They hope that their experiences from the last few months will give them the insight they need to charge into Pueblo head-on.

"It was just staying focused the whole time, no matter what the score is," Stowell said. "Just focus on every point."

Local state qualifiers:

1 singles: Katie Reitz, Silver Creek (regional champion); Sarah Nickerson, Centaurus

2 singles: Sahasra Kolli, Niwot (regional champion); Liana Kelly, Silver Creek

3 singles: Tracy Yu, Niwot (regional champion); Mimi Emerson, Silver Creek

1 doubles: Samantha Zacky/Anne Haley, Niwot (regional champions); Paula Merino/Addy Sheiven, Silver Creek

2 doubles: Stella Landis/Kendall Wachowiak, Erie (regional champions); Cassie Chen/Maggie Valentine, Niwot

3 doubles: Ashley Stowell/Addie Rice, Erie (regional champions); Harper Behmer/Masha Oshmyan, Niwot

4 doubles: Sarada Gundavarapu/Caitlyn Carmichael, Niwot (regional champions); Avery Gilbert/Addie Osborne (Erie)