Aspen senior Hannah Zack left for the state tennis tournament after her second-place finish at regionals on Friday in Grand Junction.
After what AHS head coach Chris Kilgore called “ups and downs” for Zack, including the transition from doubles to singles, she’s off to see what the top competition in the state will be like. next week in Colorado Springs.
“It was definitely a super happy time for me and my team,” Zack said. “I’m super excited. I had never been to State before and was in doubles last year, so being successful in singles is really exciting.
Zack first defeated Cedaredge’s Mary Locke in a clean sweep on Friday morning, winning 6-3, 6-1 in the best-of-three-set match. She then trailed Lyla Baker of Steamboat Springs in the semi-final 6-2 in the first set before reversing the score in the second, tied at 1-1. Zack said his winning point in the deciding third set had just cleared the net, concluding it was “one of the best games I’ve ever played”.
She fell two sets to zero against Vail Christian’s Jessie Allen in the final, but her second seed earned her a trip to the state tournament. Allen didn’t drop a set throughout the tournament and only allowed a total of nine runs.
Zack is the only local competitor with a secure spot in the state tournament, but there’s a slim chance some of her teammates and some Glenwood Springs demons qualify as substitutes after finishing third in their pool. Glenwood senior Siri Henderson placed third in the No. 1 singles and teammate Tess Goscha bronzed in the No. 2 singles. Amelia Hecht and Great Holton of Aspen are the alternates in the No. 1 doubles group and Bernede’s Sofia Darmau and Madelyn McAllister will serve as the No. 2 doubles alternates. The alternates face off if for some reason the No. 1 or No. 2 seed can’t make it to the States.
For the majority of local tennis players, it marks the end of the season. Basalt, which went 0-9 during the regular season, did not place any athletes in the top three of their regional groups.
Aspen, with six seniors including Zack, went 4-4 on the head-to-head portion of the schedule, according to MaxPreps.
“We’ve had great leadership this year,” said Kilgore, in his first year coaching boys and girls tennis after coming from Basalt High. “So it’s going to be sad to see them go. I would have liked to be with them for more than a year. … But we are building and what I look forward to is staying with this team and building the program and really trying to get to the top of Region 8.”
Glenwood Springs also went 4-4 head-to-head this year. But unlike, the Demons only registered one senior in Henderson. Head coach Jon Zalinski said the team initially had 28 players signed up to join the team, and they will promote eight juniors and five sophomores next season.
“It’s been a super solid year, especially with the big hurdle of trying to get games between the snow,” Zalinski said. “We are a competitor, we are in the mix. Some other teams have more seniors taking off, so that provides opportunities. We’ve had a strong, solid season with some great potential players to come. …I guess they’ll all be back, so I’m kinda excited about that.
The state tournament begins Thursday in Colorado Springs.
Day One Athletics Results
The first day of the Western Slope League 3A and 4A Athletics Regionals saw mostly preliminary heats. Aspen finished day one in sixth place in the girls team and seventh in the boys, while Basalt was eighth in the girls and fifth in the boys in 3A. In 4A, Glenwood was tied for third among girls and sixth among boys.
Saturday will see events in which local schools excel, such as the 100m, 800m medley sprint relay and some of the longest running distances. Watch next week’s roundup of preparations in Aspen Daily News for full results and state qualifying.
