Danes' Tatje advances while Indians stumble

PUEBLO - When Fountain Valley's Clarke Tatje squares off against Sammie Watson today in the final of the No. 1 singles division of the 4A girls tennis tournament, it will not be the first time the two have faced each other.

"I played her last summer and lost," Tatje said of the Kent Denver freshman. "But I haven't been able to see her play since then, so who knows what will happen (today)."

What won't happen today is another state title for Cheyenne Mountain.

The defending state champions were represented in five of the seven divisions after Thursday's quarterfinals, but failed to advance to the finals in any classification except No. 4 doubles.

"We're disappointed, but I think we've done well to make it this far considering that we have only two players who have ever been to this tournament before," Cheyenne Mountain coach Dave Adams said.

Cheyenne Mountain has 27 points, and is tied for fifth place with Mullen. Niwot leads with 51, with Kent Denver a distant second at 31.

No. 1 singles player Meha Semwal lost twice and was eliminated.

"Meha has had such a tough row to hoe this year at No. 1 singles," Adams said of the sophomore. "But she's grown so much and really reduced her unforced errors astronomically. She'll be back."

With her partner and current No. 2 singles player Kristina Barber, Semwal won the 2007 state title in the No. 1 doubles division. Barber has a chance to compete tomorrow for third place after she won her Friday playback match.

The No. 4 doubles pair of Anne Elder and Katie Porter defeated Katie Briesch and Claire Parsons of Steamboat Springs 7-6 (4), 6-3, and will be the sole Cheyenne Mountain team in today's finals.

"Elder and Porter have been the surprise of the season for us since we only put them together in late March," Adams said. "But they've really evolved, and they can really wear down their opponents just keeping the ball in play."

In order to advance to today's No. 1 singles final, Tatje first had to get past her semifinal with Dani Scimeca of Fossil Ridge. Tatje won the first set easily, but had to battle through a tiebreaker to win the second.