DENVER | Grandview’s last appearance in the Class 5A girls state tennis tournament came back in 2009, but the performance of freshmen Amanda Olsen-Dufour and Taylee Hardin in Monday’s first round may be a sign that will be a regular occurance in the near future.
The Wolves’ freshmen duo showed poise, shot-making ability and strong teamwork, but it wasn’t quite enough as Fossil Ridge’s Lydia Supe and Katie Hinz topped them 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in a lengthy match at Gates Tennis Center.
With a strong experience behind them, Olsen-Dufour and Hardin hope to get a playback chance when the three-day tournament — postponed from last week due to weather — resumes Tuesday. For that to happen, the Grandview team needs Supe and Hinz to win their 9 a.m. semifinal match against Cherry Creek’s Hannah Peterson and Allison Murphy.
“It was really fun and probably one of the best matches we played all season,” Olsen-Dufour said. “I think overall we’re pretty happy about it.”
The other state qualifier for coach Jeff Ryan’s Wolves, the No. 3 doubles team of junior Olivia Brohl and sophomore Ila Farhang, also have the chance to reenter the consolation bracket, as the team they lost to in the first round — Mountain Vista’s Tara Minatta and Hannah Smith — advanced to the semifinal round. The Golden Eagles would bring the Wolves back in with a semifinal victory.
Olsen-Dufour and Hardin had a chance to put their fate in their own hands against Fossil Ridge.
With weather making it impossible to practice outdoors for all of last week, the freshmen had some rust on their game, but still managed to jump out to a 4-2 lead on the SaberCats in the opening set.
Encouraged by a regional performance in which they pushed Cherry Creek to tiebreakers in both sets before going down in the championship match. The Wolves carried that momentum into their state debut, but the SaberCats rallied to win the last four games to steal the first set.
The Grandview duo worked itself into a 4-2 lead in the second set, but didn’t give that one back, taking it 6-2 to force a deciding third set.
Prevailing twice in the opening three games of the set, which all were extended to at least one deuce, the Wolves took a 2-1 lead before Fossil Ridge caught fire and raced out to a 4-2 edge.
Grandview’s freshmen hung in with a break and Olsen-Dufour held serve to make it 5-4, but the SaberCats won all four points in the final game to end the match.
“I think (the difference) was just mental toughness, because it’s easy to get down on yourself,” Hardin said. “But you have to stay up and positive. It’s definitely something we can learn from.”
Added Olsen-Dufour: “We’re just freshmen, so hopefully next time we play them, we can win.”
Brohl and Farhang, both making their state debuts, never really got into a rhythm in their 6-3, 6-1 loss to Mountain Vista in the opening round.
The pair use a “signature move” to set up opponents for easy points at the net, but the Golden Eagles didn’t give them much of a chance to use it.
Brohl and Farhang both vowed to come back with a vengeance if they get a playback chance.
“We were let down, but we’re motivated to come back and play our best tomorrow,” Farhang said. “We are coming back.”
Brohl really hoped to get another match as well, but will definitely a lot from the experience.
“It was really good to be here, because it is so much more intense than regionals,” she said.
Note: Grandview’s last 5A state qualifiers came in 2009, when Daria Emelionova earned her way into the tournament at No. 3 singles, where she was joined by the No. 2 doubles team of Kelly Payne and Katie Painter, the No. 3 doubles tandem of Alina Barthle and Samantha Kobe and the No. 4 doubles team of Sarah Schrieber and Lauren Mendelsberg.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2015 CLASS 5A GIRLS STATE TENNIS TOURNAMENT
First round, May 11 at Gates Tennis Center
No. 3 doubles: Tara Minatta/Hannah Smith (Mountain Vista) def. OLIVIA BROHL/ILA FARHANG (GRANDVIEW), 6-3, 6-1
No. 4 doubles: Lydia Supe/Katie Hinz (Fossil Ridge) def. AMANDA OLSEN-DUFOUR/TAYLEE HARDIN (GRANDVIEW), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
