AURORA | Nearly an entire month after the opening day of the spring season, the Grandview girls tennis team finally got in a match.
Through a combination of scheduling challenges and weather impact, the Wolves didn’t get any non-practice competition until Wednesday when Legend came calling for a non-league dual match.
Despite the rust, things went as well as possible for coach Jeffrey Ryan’s team, which posted a 7-0 home sweep of the Titans. With a lineup that features six players back who qualified for last season’s Class 5A state tournament and another with previous state experience, Grandview didn’t drop a single set.
Returning state qualifier Olivia Stubbs won her debut match at No. 1 singles in straight sets, while last season’s No. 1 — junior Haley Artis — posted a shut out at No. 2 singles and senior Eleana Welsh completed the singles sweep with a lengthy victory at No. 3.
Senior Felicia Tay and junior Mia Nguyen placed together at state at No. 3 doubles last season and moved up to No. 1 doubles this season, where the pair delivered a 6-0, 6-3 victory in their first match.
Seniors Juniel Figures and Rithika Ginjupalli also renew their partnership — again at No. 2 doubles — and also won handily, as did junior Ashley Oh (a returning state qualifier) and new partner Amelia Pulsipher at No. 3, while junior Chloe Coles and sophomore Leah Hardin needed to win a 7-5 second set to end their No. 4 doubles match in straight sets.
The Wolves will get plenty of competition over the weekend as part of the two-day Western Slope Open hosted by Grand Junction High School.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Sentinel Prep Sports
GRANDVIEW 7, LEGEND 0
No. 1 singles — Olivia Stubbs (Grandview) def. Legend, 6-2, 6-2; No. 2 singles — Haley Artis (Grandview) def. Legend, 6-0, 6-0; No. 3 singles — Eleana Welsh (Grandview) def. Legend, 6-4, 6-4; No. 1 doubles — Felicia Tay/Mia Nguyen (Grandview) def. Legend, 6-0, 6-3; No. 2 doubles — Juniel Figures/Rithika Ginjupalli (Grandview) def. Legend, 6-1, 6-2; No. 3 doubles — Amelia Pulsipher/Ashley Oh (Grandview) def. Legend, 6-1, 6-1; No. 4 doubles — Leah Hardin/Chloe Coles (Grandview) def. Legend, 6-1, 7-5