GREENWOOD VILLAGE | A two-day weather delay didn’t do the surviving members of the Smoky Hill girls tennis team any favors in Friday’s conclusion of the Class 5A Region 1 tournament at Cherry Creek High School.
A loaded field featuring Cherry Creek, Loveland and Doherty also played a part in denying the Buffaloes any berths into the May 9-11 5A state tournament.
Coach Colin Lesyinski’s team did see two singles players and two doubles teams come away with fourth-place finishes, allowing it to move up a place from its regional finish a season ago.
Host Cherry Creek cruised to the Region 1 team championship by winning six of the seven positions.
Loveland star freshman Becca Weissmann prevented a clean sweep for the Bruins with a No. 1 singles victory over Cherry Creek’s Kelli Woodman, last season’s 5A state champion.
Weissmann beat Smoky Hill senior Angela Hudson in the semifinals, dropping Hudson into the consolation bracket. She qualified for the third-place match with a victory Tuesday against Thornton’s Kasiu Lor, but lost 6-0, 6-1 to Reagan Simons of Doherty when the tournament resumed on Friday.
A win in the third-place match would have given Hudson the right to challenge Woodman for a trip to state.
Smoky Hill freshman Karyna Zaberezhna came closest to making a regional championship match, as she had a set lead on Doherty’s Regan Waneka in the semifinals before falling 1-6, 6-3, 7-5. Zaberezhna won again the consolation semifinals before dropping a 6-1, 6-1 decision in the third-place match to another Weissmann, Kim.
The No. 1 doubles team of senior Salina Trahan and freshman Destinie Hudson could have had a challenge match for a state berth if they’d beaten Loveland in the third-place match, but the Smoky Hill duo suffered a tight 7-6, 6-4 loss that ended their season.
Smoky Hill’s No. 4 doubles team of Melody Su and Annie Grech had to default its third-place match to Loveland due to a player who had a conflict with an IB test.
Gateway was shut out as a team.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
2013 CLASS 5A REGION 1 GIRLS TENNIS TOURNAMENT
(At Cherry Creek High School, April 30 & May 3)
AURORA THIRD-PLACE MATCHES (May 3)
No. 1 singles: Reagan Simons (Doherty) def. Angela Hudson (Smoky Hill), 6-0, 6-1; No. 3 singles: Kim Weissmann (Loveland) def. Karyna Zaberezhna (Smoky Hill), 6-1, 6-1; No. 1 doubles: Katie Nottberg/Ashlyn Wong (Loveland) def. Salina Trahan/Destinie Hudson (Smoky Hill), 7-6, 6-4; No. 4 doubles: Lindsey Moulton/Courtney Parra (Loveland) won by default over Melody Su/Annie Grech (Smoky Hill)
AURORA CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS (April 30)
No. 1 singles: Angela Hudson (Smoky Hill) def.
AURORA SEMIFINALS (April 30)
No. 1 singles: Becca Weissmann (Loveland) def. Angela Hudson (Smoky Hill), 6-0, 6-1; No. 3 singles: Regan Waneka (Doherty) def. Karyna Zabrezhna (Smoky Hill), 1-6, 6-3, 7-5; No. 1 doubles: Julie Berlinger/Madeleine Bernstein (Cherry Creek) def. Salina Trahan/Destinie Hudson (Smoky Hill), 6-0, 6-1; No. 4 doubles: Jessica Murphy/Madeline Roberts (Cherry Creek) def. Melody Su/Annie Grech (Smoky Hill), 6-0, 6-0