ARVADA | The Regis Jesuit girls tennis team may no longer be in the Class 5A team state tournament, but all three of its singles players and four doubles teams earned a chance to win individual hardware.
The Raiders — who recently lost to top-seeded Cherry Creek in the quarterfinals of the inaugural 5A state team tournament — will be whole for the May 11-13 5A individual state tournament at City Park after they made it through in a variety of ways from the Region 6 tournament at the APEX Tennis Center.
First-year Regis Jesuit coach Jennifer Armstrong had all seven positions make it into championship matches Thursday and all came against host Ralston Valley, which won five of the seven matchups. The No. 1 doubles team of senior Quinn Binaxas and junior Mary Clare Watts and the No. 4 duo of sophomores Catherine Carolan and Lily Beebe both won three-set matches to take regional titles for the Raiders.
Binaxas and Watts — who posted the only win for Regis Jesuit in its team state dual against Cherry Creek — came back from a set down for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over Ralston Valley’s Adia Farling and Cassidy Gordon. The duo qualified for state by playing just two matches as they had a first round bye and then posted a shutout win over a team from Liberty in the semifinals.
Carolan and Beebe also were on the court for just two matches and followed a nearly-perfect win over Rampart in the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-2 victory over the Ralston Valley team of Sofia Elola and Pragna Yalavarthy in the final.
All three Regis Jesuit singles players — senior Madison Wei at No. 1, senior Paige Wolf at No. 2 and junior Lucia Filippini at No. 3 — lost in championship matches, but none faced playbacks as they had defeated the third-place finisher. Wei was a state qualifier in singles last season, while Filippini played with Watts on a placing doubles team.
The No. doubles team of junior Brenna Radebaugh and sophomore Ebba Svard and the No. 3 tandem of junior Elise Holt and freshman Otilya Martino each had to go the long way to make it into the state tournament, which they did via playbacks.
Radebaugh and Svard lost in straight sets in the championship match, but posted a 6-1, 6-4 win over Fruita Monument’s Lille Belknap and Kyra Dunn, while Holt and Martino shook off their title match loss to record a 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 win over the Fruita Monument team of Lauren Olson and Paige Barnhurst.
Regional team scores were kept in the past, but no longer as the tournament only serves as a qualifier for the individual state tournament.
The Regis Jesuit contingent is all that advanced to state for the Aurora area in the 5A ranks, while Vista PEAK had a single qualifier for the 4A state tournament in No. 1 singles player Francesca Johnson.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2023 CLASS 5A REGION 6 GIRLS TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES
May 4 at APEX Tennis Center
No. 1 singles — Ally Lowe (Ralston Valley) def. MADISON WEI (REGIS JESUIT), 6-2, 7-6 (4); No. 2 singles — Emerson Bonner (Ralston Valley) def. PAIGE WOLF (REGIS JESUIT), 6-2, 6-1; No. 3 singles — Kylie Englesman (Ralston Valley) def. LUCIA FILIPPINI (REGIS JESUIT), 2-6, 6-4, 6-0; No. 1 doubles — QUINN BINAXAS/MARY CLARE WATTS (REGIS JESUIT) def. Adia Farling/Cassidy Gordon (Ralston Valley), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3; No. 2 doubles — Parker Lucas/Zoey Prokopyschyn (Ralston Valley) def. BRENNA RADEBAUGH/EBBA SVARD (REGIS JESUIT), 7-6 (1), 6-2; No. 3 doubles — Drew Felderman/Elaina Roboff (Ralston Valley) def. ELISE HOLT/OTILYA MARTINO (REGIS JESUIT), 6-3, 6-2; No. 4 doubles — CATHERINE CAROLAN/LILY BEEBE (REGIS JESUIT) def. Sofia Elola/Pragna Yalavarthy (Ralston Valley), 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-2
Playback matches (winner advances to state tournament): No. 2 doubles — BRENNA RADEBAUGH/EBBA SVARD (REGIS JESUIT) def. Lillie Belknamp/Kyra Dunn (Fruita Monument), 6-1, 6-4; No. 3 doubles — CATHERINE CAROLAN/LILY BEEBE (REGIS JESUIT) def. Lauren Olson/Paige Barnhurst (Fruita Monument), 7-6 (7-1), 6-1