GREELEY — With the rest of the Northern Colorado Athletics Conference girls tennis teams long gone, and the cold fully enveloping the courts at Centennial Park on Friday, just one team remained, triumphant.
Longmont head coach Cade Kloster had just one message for his team: “We didn’t come in this year just to get this far.”
The Trojans claimed the NCAC crown with 92 cumulative points, marking the first time they’d achieved the feat in 36 years. They edged out second-place Holy Family — which finished with 75 points — by sending six of seven lines to their respective championship matches. Senior Lauren Pavot won the gold at No. 1 singles and junior Stella Rulon matched her effort at 3 singles.
Pavot has been on a tear throughout her final high school season, burying every single opponent she’s faced in straight sets. No one has been able to defeat her. That theme held true when she faced off with Windsor’s Zaylee Rose for the league title, which she won quickly with scores of 6-2, 6-3.
Longmont @LHSTrojanWay won the NCAC league title, first team title in 36 years, with 92 points@BoCoPreps @CHSAA pic.twitter.com/2bx2vXKnhG
— Alissa Noe (@crazysportgirl1) April 21, 2023
All she needed to do was believe in herself.
“I think playing for myself, playing for my team rather than focusing on actually winning (and) playing for fun made the game a lot more enjoyable,” Pavot said. “I think this year, my forehand has shown up a lot more. My consistency has been better and just ball placement, in general.”
With her confidence sky-high and a strong team behind her, Pavot and her coach, Kloster, look forward to seeing what the postseason can bring. They hope they’ll hear their name called when CHSAA releases its Class 4A team dual tournament brackets on Monday.
From there, they hope to crush their regional competition in Grand Junction next weekend.
“I’m just excited to move on to next week’s state (dual) tournament,” Kloster said. “With (individual) regionals in Grand Junction, it just gives us the opportunity to build that chemistry that we’ve been working on and, hopefully, we can peak at the right time.”
Longmont’s Lauren Pavot won the 1 singles league title at the NCAC league tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Silver Creek’s Liana Kelly chases down a ball during her 2 singles title match of the NCAC league tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Longmont’s Stella Rulon won the 3 singles league title at the NCAC league tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Longmont’s Caroline Pomeroy competes in her 2 singles title match of the NCAC league tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Holy Family’s Clara Meisner competes against Longmont during her No. 1 doubles match of the NCAC league tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Longmont’s Ella Jackson competes against Holy Family during her No. 1 doubles match of the NCAC league tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Longmont’s Allison Brause competes against Holy Family in her No. 1 doubles match of the NCAC league tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Holy Family’s Sarah Stonehocker competes against Longmont during her No. 1 doubles match of the NCAC league tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Centaurus’ Jaden Crawley competes at No. 2 doubles at the NCAC league tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Centaurus’ Zoya Khan competes at No. 2 doubles at the NCAC league tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Longmont’s Sofia Barandiaran competes at No. 2 doubles at the NCAC league tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Longmont’s Addison Engelking competes at No. 2 doubles at the NCAC league tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Centaurus’ Ayva Jones competes at No. 3 singles at the NCAC league tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Holy Family’s Raelynn Pickup competes at 3 singles at the NCAC league tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Mead’s Sophie Wasden competes at No. 2 doubles at the NCAC league tennis tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Mead’s Payton Crispin competes at No. 2 doubles at the NCAC league tennis tournament at Centennial Park in Greeley on April 21, 2023. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Missed it by thaaaat much
While the Trojans ultimately ended up with the team trophy, Holy Family didn’t lag too far behind. All four of the Tigers’ doubles lines, in particular, wowed with two-set victories en route to their own individual league titles, three of which they earned over Longmont.
At 1 doubles, senior Sarah Stonehocker and junior Clara Meisner brushed off a tight first set against Longmont junior Allison Brause and senior Ella Jackson to defeat them with 6-4, 6-0 scores and claim their individual gold.
They, too, exited the NCAC tourney flawless through league play.
“It feels really good, especially since we’ve played most of the teams that we’re going to play again at regionals,” Meisner said of her 1 dubs success. “I think that last match was definitely the hardest competition we had. I’d say the first two (here) weren’t quite as difficult, but that one definitely challenged us a lot more.”
Holy Family @HF_Athletics finishes second at the NCAC tournament with 75 points @BoCoPreps @CHSAA pic.twitter.com/nrV41TsCcu
— Alissa Noe (@crazysportgirl1) April 21, 2023
Stonehocker admitted that she and Meisner experienced some nerves entering the match after their previous meeting on April 11 went to three sets. The Tigers duo won that faceoff, too, thanks to a final score of 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
They seemed to shake it off just fine in the second set on Friday.
“We’re really good at the mental game and our serves, I think, also help us quite a lot,” Stonehocker said. “I think we just both are really positive and we work really well together. We were able to shake it off and keep going.”
Just like a goldfish
“You know what the happiest animal on earth is?” Ted Lasso (actor Jason Sudeikis) asked a fictional soccer player during practice. “A goldfish. You know why? Got a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish, Sam.”
That line, from one of the most popular streaming shows in 2023, has served as the motto for Silver Creek senior Liana Kelly, albeit in the wrong sport. In a game as mental as tennis, she has to forget things quickly.
“I always say be a goldfish to forget the points I lose and just keep going,” she said.
On Friday, during her 2 singles title match against Longmont’s Caroline Pomeroy, Kelly needed that mindset to propel her to a 6-1, 6-1 victory while battling nausea and a cough. She had decided she wouldn’t leave anything to chance and carried that grit up until the final ball dropped.
“This is my senior year, so I’m pretty motivated to just play as hard as I can, leave everything on the court,” Kelly said. “I got through (the illness), but it’s pretty hard at the same time, because she’s such a great player too. She gets every ball back, so it’s hard to keep it going.”
She, too, hopes she can continue her unblemished record — save for one set — into regionals and into state as the season winds down.
Finals results:
1 singles: Lauren Pavot (Longmont) won 6-2, 6-3
2 singles: Liana Kelly (Silver Creek) won 6-1, 6-1
3 singles: Stella Rulon (Longmont) won 6-2, 6-3
1 doubles: Clara Meisner/Sarah Stonehocker (Holy Family) won 6-4, 6-0
2 doubles: Avery Alderman/Lauren Stonehocker (Holy Family) won 6-1, 6-4
3 doubles: Ava Silverstein/Kylie Horning (Holy Family) won 6-4, 6-3
4 doubles: Katelyn Morris/Alesandra Wise (Holy Family) won 6-1, 6-0