6 hours Ago By Jack Carlough
LAFAYETTE — Originally scheduled for Saturday but postponed 48 hours due to weather, Monday’s Centaurus Invite featured three local teams and two visitors in a competitive mid-season girls tennis tournament. Peak to Peak finished first in the team race ahead of second-place Vail Christian, while Air Academy took third, Dawson fourth and Centaurus fifth. A “wild card” team composed mostly of lower-level Centaurus and Air Academy players also competed at Centaurus High School as the tournament’s sixth team.
The veteran Pumas were led by senior singles players Lena Crotty (No.1) and Sydney Lewis (No. 2), who helped Peak to Peak beat Vail Christian in the team match for first place.
One year removed from reaching the Class 3A team state tournament semifinals, the Centaurus Invite represented another opportunity for Crotty to build toward her ultimate goal of winning a team state championship. “I approached it with the idea that obviously results can affect your emotional standpoint on it, but I think that it’s more about the practice,” Crotty said. “It’s all for my team in the end.
It’s all for that team state championship. It’s what I’m working for. That’s really important to me as a senior.
” Crotty, the daughter of head coach Mike Crotty, beat Vail Christian’s Jessie Allen in her final match, 8-2. Lewis was also victorious in her competitive final match against Vail Christian’s Alexa Blanch, 8-5. At No.
1 doubles, Sydney Parkinson and Molly Kolachov closed their day with an 8-1 win over Vail Christian. “I feel like we definitely have a stronger team,” Lena said. “I think we had a great team last year as well, but I think we’re coming back with additional experience and more gamemanship this year.
” Dawson lost to Air Academy in the third-place team match, but lead singles player Isabelle Jacobsma shined on the day. The junior won all three of her matches, including an 8-1 victory over Air Academy’s Tavia Kiser. “I think I played well,” Jacobsma said.
“I think my serves worked well for me, and I got a lot of points off of that, so I’m happy about that.” Jacobsma finished fourth at No. 1 singles in the Class 3A state tournament last year.
At No. 2 singles, Dawson’s Olivia Kirby executed an 8-2 win over Air Academy’s Ava Martin to close the day. The host Warriors entered Monday without multiple varsity players but still managed to beat the “wild card” team in the fifth-place team match.
After falling to Crotty in a No. 1 singles pool play match, Centaurus sophomore Lucy Piccolini beat a “wild card” opponent in her final match, 8-2. “There’s a lot of good people out there and depending on who I play, they have different strategies and tactics,” Piccolini said.
“I think they make me a better player because I learn what they do, and then I try to do something to deflect their strategies. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn’t. As a sophomore, there’s a lot of challenges with it.
” At No. 2 singles, Centaurus junior Francie Messenbaugh enjoyed an 8-1 victory in her match against a “wild card” opponent. “When she gets into the match, she’s very consistent,” Piccolini said of Messenbaugh.
“She’s like a wall. She mirrors the same level as the person she plays, and it’s really impressive.” View a list of Prep sports and high school teams we cover.
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