Kalhorn, Warner lead Pine Creek; Mullen wins

Scott Stocker, Rocky Mountain News

Saturday, May 13, 2006

PUEBLO — Simone Kalhorn might be setting a new winner's tradition in the Class 4A girls state tennis tournament, at least in the spring when the weather warrants the opportunity.

Shortly after the Pine Creek junior had won the No. 1 singles championship with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over three-time and previously undefeated Lauren Miller of Kent Denver, she jumped into the lake, next to the Pueblo City Park courts.

Also making the jump into the waters was Kalhorn's teammate, Ryann Warner, who won the No. 2 singles title with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Cheyenne Mountain's Alana Humpal.

What made this all the more interesting was a children's fishing tournament was going on at the same time in the park and hundreds of youngsters and their parents witnessed the jump.

"It was awesome as we have so much adrenalin going right now," said Kalhorn, who ended Miller's three unbeaten seasons to finish her year 19-0. "This was just a lot of fun."

Said Warner, "Our friends said if we won state, we had to do something adventurous, so we decided it would be the lake if they let us. The announcer (announcing the fishing tournament activity) at the lake said we could."

As for team jumps, Mullen had the best of competition as the Mustangs reeled in the schools second title under coach Brett Shirley. The Mustangs scored 70 points winning titles at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 doubles and finishing third in all three singles. Cheyenne Mountain was second with 61 points, Pine Creek third (42) and Kent Denver, seeking its fifth-consecutive title, fourth (40).

Kalhorn, who is playing high school tennis for the first season, had her hands full with Miller, that's for sure. The score might appear a bit lopsided, but it was anything but an easy win. Both supplied solid serves and long volleys which brought cheers from the crowd and praise for their efforts.

But in the end, it was Kalhorn's ability to get to the net for shorter shots that turned the day. And, that came after she solved a way to get the better of Miller's lobs.

"Lauren was good," Kalhorn said. "I kind of let down in the second set, but I was able to pull through. I wanted to send the balls to the corners and cut the angles off, but she hit some good passing shots.

"I had to be more patient and sometimes I just got excited when playing her lobs," Kalhorn said. "I think I could have played better. I was more worried about getting to the net and put more into the net than I wanted."

Unlike Kalhorn, Miller, a senior, is not a year-round tennis player. She finished the season with a 14-1 record, her final match, also ends her competitive tennis career. She will head to Duke University in the fall on a full-ride field hockey scholarship.

"It is bitter sweet, but this loss makes me appreciate everything that I have ever accomplished," Miller said. "I think she demonstrated the difference between and athlete and a great tennis player. It wasn't my day playing and she was much better and she was just able to put the ball away.

"It was my last match and I went out today to represent my family, friends and school well," Miller said. "You can see Simone is a great player. I would get to the balls and she would just put them away."

Now, it appears the shoes of Pine Creek's four-time champion, Nicole Limbach are being filled quite well.

"Simone played a great match today and so did Lauren," said Pine Creek coach Dave Lehman. "I don't know why Simone was so heavily favored because Lauren is such a good player, too.

"Simone realized what she had to do today," Lehman said. "She had to take advantage of short balls, close in and hopefully apply pressure and draw errors from Lauren. Fortunately, it worked pretty good today."

Warner's win give the Eagle's freshman a bit of revenge.

"I actually lost to Alana pretty bad during the regular season, so I just came out and played my game this time," said Warner, who finished the season 17-1. "I made her move a lot, played baseline more and when I got the chance, I would come in."

Runner-up Cheyenne Mountain came through with a pair of titles. Sophomore Mary Russell won the No. 3 title while the No. 2 doubles tandem of Kristin Boe and Alison Seiler came through as well.

Russell, however, made the crowd anxiously awaiting the medals presentations wait a little longer than anticipated. She needed two-and-a-half hours to defeat Kent Denver's Allison Wold, 7-5, 3-6, 6-1.

Boe and Seilers put the damper on a Mullen doubles sweep beating the Mustang's Lindsey Flater and Kelsey Cullen, 6-3, 7-6 (8).

But it might have been expected. Russell needed over three hours in the quarterfinals to defeat Shelby Reed of Steamboat Springs. Reed, by the way, came back to win third.

"I beat Shelby earlier in the season by the same scores, I think" said Russell, who finished the season 14-2. "I knew it was going to be a hard match."

Mullen's No. 1 doubles, Patty Pogge and Lauren Perkins, defeated Kent Denver's Katie Brezinski and Anna Brugioni, 6-2, 6-3. Lindsey Heringer and Allison O'Callaghan, at No. 3 doubles, beat Pine Creek's Julia Hubbard and Christine Pack, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 and the No. 4 doubles team of Kelly Sweeney and Kelly Nightingale beat Cheyenne Mountain's Thea Rubley and Brittany Johansen, 6-4, 0-6, 6-3.

"The kids just played awesome," said Mullen coach Brett Shirley. "Since this day last year, this is all that we have talked about, winning state. They worked hard for it and we got it.

"Jodi (Ciarvella) struggled through the season, but at state definitely got her game back," Shirley said. "She came back for third (No. 1 singles). Our No. 2, Cari Hudson, also came back for third, as did Kimber Robbins at No. 3. They had tough draws, but pulled their way back in the playbacks. What more can you ask?"

Results

Pueblo City Park

Team scores — Mullen 70, Cheyenne Mountain 61, Pine Creek 42, Kent Denver 40, Steamboat Springs 19, Greeley West 18, Ralston Valley 12, Niwot 9, Eaton 8, Broomfield 5, D'Evelyn 4, Montrose 2, Pueblo South 2, Regis 2, La Junta 1, Pueblo County 1, Silver Creek 1, Sterling 1.

Championship matches

No. 1 singles — Simone Kalhorn, Pine Creek, def. Lauren Miller, Kent Denver, 6-1, 6-4.

No. 2 singles — Ryann Warner, Pine Creek, def. Alana Humpal, Cheyenne Mountain, 7-5, 6-4.

No. 3 singles — Mary Russell, Cheyenne Mountain, def. Allison Wold, Kent Denver, 7-5, 3-6, 6-1.

No. 1 doubles — Patty Pogge/Lauren Perkins, Mullen, def. Katie Brezinski/Anna Brugioni, Kent Denver, 6-2, 6-3.

No. 2 doubles — Kristin Boe/Alison Seiler, Cheyenne Mountain, def. Lindsey Flater/Kelsey Cullen, Mullen, 6-3, 7-6 (8).

No. 3 doubles — Lindsey Heringer/Allison O'Callaghan, Mullen, def. Julia Hubbard/Christine Pack, Pine Creek, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.

No. 4 doubles — Kelly Sweeney/Kelly Nightingale, Mullen, def. Thea Rubley/Brittany Johansen, Cheyenne Mountain, 6-4, 0-6, 6-3.

Third-place matches

No. 1 singles — Jodi Ciarvella, Mullen, def. Casey Wetzig, Cheyenne Mountain, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

No. 2 singles — Cari Hudson, Mullen, def. Alyssia Pyne, Ralston Valley, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

No. 3 singles — Kimber Robbins, Mullen, def. Shelby Reed, Steamboat Springs, 6-3, 6-3.

No. 1 doubles — Nicole Ford/Jennah Kitchell, Greeley West, def. Molly Weiss/Kristin Toy, Steamboat Springs, 6-2, 6-3.

No. 2 doubles — Lauren Stephans/Annie Pierce, Greeley West, def. Amy Berenbaum/Alison Bathgate, Kent Denver, 6-3, 6-0.

No. 3 doubles — Jennifer Marquit/Kelli Sylvester, Cheyenne Mountain, def. Brooke Caton/Shannon Points, Eaton, 6-7 (10), 6-2, 6-4.

No. 4 doubles — Kacey Grauer/ Molly Joyce, Niwot, def. Katie Armstrong/Anna Bruce, Eaton, 6-3, 7-6 (5).