ENGLEWOOD | The Regis Jesuit girls tennis team waited an extra day to play the opening round of the Class 5A team state tournament, but rose to the occasion when it did.
The Raiders — the No. 8 seed in the 16-team tournament, which is being played for the first time this season in addition to the upcoming individual state tournament — edged fellow Continental League team Heritage 4-3 in the regular season, but came away with a 5-2 victory in the opening round Thursday at Colorado Athletic Club Inverness.
Coach Jennifer Armstrong’s Regis Jesuit team moved into the quarterfinals, where it will face top-seeded Cherry Creek, a 7-0 winner in the opening round. The Raiders will visit the Bruins at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in a match that will take place a day after the other three quarterfinal contests.
When Regis Jesuit and Heritage played back on March 21, the Eagles got victories at No. 2 and No. 3 singles and the same scenario played out in the state tournament dual as Abigail Johnson and Ava Antolinez defeated the Raiders’ Paige Wolf and Lucia Filippini. Regis Jesuit Regis Jesuit No. 1 singles player Madison Wei repeated a straight sets win over Megan Johnson as well.
The difference was in doubles, where the Raiders earned a sweep of the four matches to win comfortably. The flip came at No. 4 doubles, where the tandem of sophomores Catherine Carolan and Lily Beebe lost in three sets in the regular season, but defeated holdover Claire Robinson and new partner Mary Chilson 6-2, 7-5.
Next up is a matchup with Cherry Creek, which is 16-0 in dual results and defeated No. 16 Legacy 7-0 without dropping a single set in its opening round match Wednesday.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2023 Class 5A girls tennis state team tournament (first round)
April 27 at Colorado Athletic Club Inverness
(8) Regis Jesuit 5, (9) Heritage 2
No. 1 singles — Madison Wei (Regis Jesuit) def. Megan Johnson (Heritage), 6-1, 6-3; No. 2 singles — Abigail Johnson (Heritage) def. Paige Wolf (Regis Jesuit), 6-2, 6-3; No. 3 singles — Ava Antolinez (Heritage) def. Lucia Filippini (Regis Jesuit), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2; No. 1 doubles — Mary Clare Watts/Quinn Binaxas (Regis Jesuit) def. Sidney Mansfield/Ashleigh Olson (Heritage), 6-1, 6-2; No. 2 doubles — Victoria Loftus/Brenna Radebaugh (Regis Jesuit) def. Sophie Jones/Kora Ziegler (Heritage), 6-1, 6-1; No. 3 doubles — Elise Holt/Otilya Martino (Regis Jesuit) def. Regan McKelvie/Lucy O’Hearn (Heritage), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2; No. 4 doubles — Catherine Carolan/Lily Beebe (Regis Jesuit) def. Mary Chilson/Claire Robinson (Heritage), 6-2, 7-5