Los Alamos pair wins 2-4A titles, then heads to prom together

Apr. 29—Winning individual singles championships was only the second-most exciting thing to happen to a pair of Los Alamos tennis players Saturday afternoon.

Hilltoppers senior Kate McDonald had an ear-to-ear smile when she picked up a win over Santa Fe Prep's Andrea Voinescu in the District 2-4A Tournament, held Friday and Saturday at Santa Fe High's tennis complex.

It was followed about 15 minutes later when Los Alamos junior Ryan Sood earned a tough two-set win over Prep's Jonas Anderson-Joyner.

The pair celebrated by heading home early to attend Saturday night's prom — as a couple.

"The story here is the singles winners are going to prom together," McDonald said. "It's my senior year, and it's something I'm trying to have fun with, something I'm trying to savor every part of."

Sood echoed that sentiment after a sometimes-contentious match against Anderson-Joyner. During their second set, the two had to have a nonpartisan line judge position herself along the net after a brief discussion about a disputed call. It came after a recent team duals match in which the two players battled for three hours at No. 1 singles only to have it halted when Prep clinched the win.

"That was something we were both wanting to finish, and I'm sure we've both thought about ever since," Sood said. "He's a good kid and a really good tennis player. There wasn't any talking going on; we're both just really competitive. We both talk and get caught up in things, but it's not directed at one another."

While Sood clinched the district title with a 6-4, 6-2 win, McDonald dropped her first set to Voinescu and was leading 4-3 in the second when Voinescu's left knee gave out when chasing a baseline return. She fell to the ground in a heap, unable to continue. After being carried off the court and examined in the shade of a nearby bench, she was forced to retire.

"I mean, no one wants to win like that, but it goes with so many memories of this year," McDonald said. "I've been trying to play more relax, less stressed. I've done that and it's been a lot more fun this year."

Saturday's girls doubles finals saw Espanola Valley's youthful duo of Olivia Suazo and Jennifer Gallegos roll to the title with a straight-sets win over the top-seeded (and even younger) pair of Gabriela Fulgenzi and Mariana Armijo of Robertson. The 6-3, 6-1 win sends the juniors into next week's state tournament with a huge degree of momentum after a 15-8 record as a No. 1 doubles pair.

The boys' double finals was a three-set marathon, the second of the day for Santa Fe Prep's sophomore pair of Henry Kaufman and Jackson Friedland. They endured nearly six hours of match play under a cloudless sky, ending with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 win for the top-seeded St. Michael's tandem of Kameron Dunmar and James Utton.

The pivotal point of the match came late in the third set when Kaufman and Friedland broke Dunmar and Utton's serve to even the set. The Horsemen pair returned the favor in the next game to seize the momentum and finish it off moments later.

"The second you lose you have to come right back," Dunmar said. "We've been put in these situations before; in the Alamogordo Invitational we came back to win a set like that in a tiebreaker. It's James, man. It's his big serve."

With the size and wingspan that would make a basketball coach excited about the possibilities of a low-post option, Utton smiled at the prospect of his serve playing a key role in regaining control in the third set.

"We have high expectations for districts and for state, too," he said. "So it's like do or die time. We have to break here; not too much pressure, but knowing it has to be done."

It didn't hurt things that their doubles match was one of the last things going after two long days of competition — which began in horrible weather conditions Friday and ended with downright calm and ideal weather Saturday — that a large crowd had gathered to watch. Among them were a number of baseball players from St. Mike's.

"We'll just bring the baseball team everywhere we go," Utton said, looking over his shoulder at that group standing nearby watching him get interviewed.

The top three finishers in singles and doubles advance to next week's individual state tournament in Albuquerque. The draw for all singles and doubles matches will be held Sunday.

District 5-5A Results

Santa Fe High's Carlos Luis Flores and Humza Mahmood captured the boys' doubles title with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Capital's Javier Martinez and Johnny Sheffer. The tournament was played at Capital on Friday and Saturday.

The girls' doubles finals was an all-Santa Fe High affair as Carmen Valentino and Yasmin Palomino held off teammates Avah Trujillo and Mikayla Montano in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3. The two teams combined to lose just five games in the first three rounds leading into the finals.

Albuquerque High's Leo Rocca dominated the boys' singles draw, not losing a game until the finals when he beat his younger brother, third-seeded Mitchell Rocca 6-1, 6-1. The elder Rocca knocked off Santa Fe High's Pablo Canivell Isarria in the semifinals while the younger Rocca beat the Demons' Diego Gadret, the No. 2 seed in the draw, in the other semi.

Gadret won the consolation match against Isarria, 6-3, 6-3.

Top seed Aurelia Fulgenzi of Albuquerque High won the girls' singles in straight sets against Manzano's Cloe Powell.