It was a lineup that got Regis Jesuit into the Class 5A girls tennis state team tournament and went fully intact into the 5A individual tournament as well.
It was also a lineup that earned spots across the board in three singles positions and four doubles slots on the 2024 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Girls Tennis Team, which is based on season and state performance.
Coach Jenn Armstrong’s Regis Jesuit team was heavy on state experience, especially in the double ranks, where six of the eight players on the four teams had been to at least one individual state tournament. Additionally, two of the three singles players — senior No. 2 Mary Clare Watts and sophomore No. 3 Otylia Martino — also had been to state before.
Watts was a four-time state qualifier (and four-time member of the All-Aurora team) and did so in three different positions, as she went as a singles player this season after consecutive years at No. 1 doubles (including a championship match appearance last season) and a freshman season at No. 3 doubles. She lost her lone state tournament match and did not get a playback.
Martino came within a set of earning a top-four place at No. 3 singles before her opponent from Continental League rival Rock Canyon rallied to win in three sets to end her run. Martino — an All-Aurora team member last season as part of a No. 3 doubles team — had 18 total wins for the season, while five of her eight losses came to the two players who met for the state title at No. 3 singles.
Junior No. 1 singles player Rebecca Gelfer earned a trip to state for the first time and lost her only match, but finished with 15 wins that ranked very high in the classification. Several of the first-time All-Aurora performer’s eight losses came to players who finished in the top four at the 5A state tournament and another came to the 4A state champion.
The No. 1 doubles tandem of seniors Lucy Filippini and Brenna Radebaugh was particularly experienced for Regis Jesuit, as Filippini earned her fourth state appearance (and fourth spot on the All-Aurora team) and Radebaugh her third (and third All-Aurora accolade).
Filippini returned to state at No. 1 doubles (where she was in 2022 along with then-partner Watts) and also made it previously in two other positions (No. 3 singles last season and No. 4 doubles as a freshman in 2021), while Radebaugh spent the past two seasons as part of the No. 2 doubles team.
As a tandem, Filippini and Radebaugh won 20 matches for the season, which included a 2-2 showing at state. They lost to eventual state champion Ralston Valley in the quarterfinals, then won a consolation match before losing in the consolation semis.
Juniors Cait Carolan and Ebba Svard had both been to state in their previous two seasons and they kept the streak intact as they played together at No. 2 doubles. Both also earned spots on the All-Aurora team for a third straight season.
Svard spent her third season in the same position in the lineup (but had a new partner as Radebaugh moved up after they played together for the two previous seasons), while it was a good-sized jump for Carolan after two years in the No. 4 doubles position. Their state tournament experience together lasted two matches, as they won their opener and then fell in the quarterfinals.
The No. 3 team paired junior Lily Beebe (a 2023 qualifier at No. 4 doubles) with senior Torri Loftus, who had not been to state previously. The Raiders knocked off another Aurora area qualifier in the Grandview team of Quincy Muntean and Maddie Mayer in the first round before losing in the second round to a Valor Christian team that subsequently was eliminated.
Beebe and Loftus finished with 19 victories, which was second most in the state at their position behind undefeated Sofia Elola and Mataya Farling of Ralston Valley.
The No. 4 doubles team paired a senior in Elise Holt (who finished her career as a three-time state qualifier and three-time member of the All-Aurora team) with a sophomore in Helen Adams and it was a beneficial combination.
The duo earned the only point for the Raiders in a 5A state team quarterfinal loss against top-seeded Ralston Valley with a three-set victory (over a team that had beaten them 6-1, 6-1 earlier in the season), though the Mustangs would return the favor in a consolation semifinal at the individual state tournament in an outcome that kept Holt and Adams out of the placing round.
Adams and Holt finished with a total of 19 wins playing together.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 AURORA SENTINEL ALL-AURORA GIRLS TENNIS TEAM
No. 1 singles — Rebecca Gelfer, jr., Regis Jesuit
No. 2 singles — Mary Clare Watts, sr., Regis Jesuit
No. 3 singles — Otylia Martino, soph., Regis Jesuit
No. 1 doubles — Lucy Filippini, sr. & Brenna Radebaugh, sr., Regis Jesuit
No. 2 doubles — Cait Carolan, jr. & Ebba Svard, jr., Regis Jesuit
No. 3 doubles — Lily Beebe, jr. & Torri Loftus, sr., Regis Jesuit
No. 4 doubles — Helen Adams, soph. & Elise Holt, sr., Regis Jesuit
Honorable mention: Singles — Natali Marshall, jr., Eaglecrest; Doubles — Maddie Mayer, sr. & Quincy Muntean, sr., Grandview
