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Palmer’s Adriana Wojakowska defeated Ponderosa’s Morgan Forsyth in the 5A No. 2 singles final Saturday.
(AP)
Wojakowska takes crown
Palmer freshman only area player to claim championship
DENVER - Two years ago, Adriana Wojakowska of Palmer watched older sister Veronika win a state tennis title at No. 1 singles. On Saturday, Veronika returned the favor, cheering on Adriana to victory in the No. 2 singles championship at the 5A tournament.
Wojakowska defeated Ponderosa's Morgan Forsyth 6-2, 6-4 at the Gates Tennis Center.
The freshman was one of only two players not from Cherry Creek or Chatfield to win a title.
"This means a lot," Wojakowska said. "I really wanted it. I knew that she was going to give it all she had, and I had to work harder."
Wojakowska trailed 2-1 early in the second set before rallying behind a powerful backhand down the line to paint the corners.
"When she was hitting it hard down the line to Morgan's backhand, I knew it was pretty hard on Morgan," Palmer coach Holly Strack said.
Wojakowska led 5-4 and had triple-match point before things got a little dicey. Forsyth scored the next three points and forced deuce twice before succumbing.
"It was a little scary toward the end, up 40-0. The pressure was right on her," Strack said of Wojakowska. "I knew she would still come out with the win, but she made us a little nervous there."
The defeat was a crushing blow to Ponderosa's bid for the title.
Forsyth was one of three Ponderosa players bidding for a title and one of six playing Saturday in the final day of the threeday event.
But the Mustangs managed to win only three matches, accumulating seven points. That effort wasn't nearly enough to unseat Cherry Creek, which won its 12th straight title, 65-58 over Ponderosa.
Chatfield was third with 50. Palmer finished sixth with 16 points while Lewis-Palmer was tied for seventh with 13.
Pine Creek's doubles teams won twice Saturday, placing third at No. 2 (Jamie Pledger and Anne Fredell) and at No. 4 (Kori Nachbar and Lindsay Weaver).
Lewis-Palmer's Samantha Hess placed third at No. 2 singles with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over Chatfield's Lindsey Sanders.
