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Washed away title hopes
All three area No. 1 singles entrants lose in quarterfinals
DENVER - The rain couldn't have come at a better time for Deanna Thirkell. If it had made a return visit, things might have worked out better for her and the other area's No. 1 singles players, who all failed to reach the state semifinals.
The Lewis-Palmer senior had just dropped the second set of her openinground No. 1 singles match with Chatfield's Kelsey Brading when play Thursday at the 5A state girls tennis tournament at the Gates Tennis Center was delayed. And not a moment too soon.
Thirkell, who won the first set 6-4, had just dropped the second set, and the momentum, to Brading, 6-4. But after a 90-minute rain delay, Thirkell was able to find her game again and, as a result, bounce back for a 6-3 third-set victory.
"I definitely think it helped me a lot to get my composure back and refocus," Thirkell said.
Thirkell's day proved typical for the area's No. 1s; a strong first-round win followed by a tough quarterfinal loss.
Her championship run ended a couple of hours later when Ponderosa's Erin Sanders, the defending champion, scored a 6-3, 6-0 victory to advance to the semifinals.
Palmer No. 1 singles player Veronika Wojakowska, the 2006 champion, was ousted in the quarterfinals by Poudre's Natalie Dunn, 5-7, 6-4, 6-0. That set up a semifinal match with Cherry Creek's Caroline Schnell, who beat Pine Creek's Ryann Warner, 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.
Wojakowska trailed 5-4 but won the next three games to take the opening set 7-5. In the second, Dunn broke serve early on for a 2-1 lead and that held up en route to evening the match at a set apiece.
"She was down and we got her back," Palmer coach Holly Strack said of Wojakowska's first-set comeback.
"But Natalie, from what I understand, has really been playing a lot. Her game has improved from last year."
In No. 1 doubles, Air Academy's Stephanie Todd and Sue Iwata reached the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Lewis-Palmer's Kameo Kardel and Mai Ichihara.
Because of the rain, many of the doubles quarterfinals were postponed until 8 a.m. today.
Ponderosa leads defending champion Cherry Creek 10-8 in the team race with Lewis-Palmer, Palmer and Pine Creek in the middle of the pack.
