Palmer Ridge and Lewis-Palmer finished third and fourth at the Class 4A tennis regional, respectively, at Mullen last week, as the home team swept first place in all seven flights and was followed by runner-up Holy Family in the 10-team field.
With Mullen getting everyone to state it didn’t leave much room for error or other state qualifiers and Holy Family placed second in five of the seven flights, leaving just two spots available for the other eight schools.
The Monument schools were able to grab one of those second places, while also picking up a slew of third- and fourth-place finishes.
L-P junior Teresa Haro entered the final at No. 3 singles knowing that she already had a spot for state secured as she had earlier defeated the third-place finisher Claire Donovan from Holy Family.
“I was able to settle in and relax in the final,” she said.
And despite falling 6-0, 6-0 to Mullen’s Catherine Arend in the regional final, Haro was still very excited about qualifying for her first trip to state this coming weekend.
“It’s been a goal since the beginning of the season,” she said. “I’m excited. As long as I play my best and play my game I should be happy. Even if I lose, I’ll be happy.”
Finishing fourth and just missing out on trips to state for the Rangers included No. 2 singles Aly Arnold, No. 1 doubles Jenny Roddam and McKenzy Thompson and the No. 3 doubles team of Kristen Malloy and Hannah Pavlick.
For Palmer Ridge, just missing the state tournament was the No. 1 doubles team of Gina DeCoud and Diana Cardenes, who despite getting to the regional final, lost their playback for the final spot.
Also in third for the Bears was No. 2 singles Shannon Babcock — a state qualifier from a year ago, No. 2 doubles Kaitel Kron and Hannah Brachfield and the No. 3 doubles team of Diane Babcock and Kristina Pegues. The No. 4 doubles team of Emily Parker and Megan Wrobel finished fourth for PRHS.
“We had four (flights) in line to go to state and nobody made it. It was really tough competition. Holy Family and Mullen are just incredibly tough,” said Palmer Ridge head coach Sheri Heister. “It was our first year in that region and we really got a good look at what we need to do to get our kids to state. Our eyes were opened, that’s for sure… We just need to hit a little harder, run a little faster and get ready for next year so we can play at that level.
“I know the girls were really disappointed that nobody got through to state, but I was really happy to finish third.”
Also in Denver this past week, Discovery Canyon did not fare as well as its area Class 4A counterparts. The Thunder placed eighth out of nine teams, earning just two points in the Kent Denver regional at Cherry Creek and sending no one to state.