No. 1-ranked Vail Christian girls tennis advances to 3A team state quarterfinals

Vail Christian swept Conifer on Wednesday in the first round of the 3A girls tennis team state tournament at Homestead Court Club in Edwards. The No. 1-seeded Saints won all seven lines against the No. 16-ranked Lobos.

Alexa Blanch led the way with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Charlize Hargrove at No. 1 singles. Team captain Heidi Iverson and Ella Pecinka were also victorious at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles spots, respectively, for the Saints.

“This first round of team states was great and it was so fun to host,” Iverson stated. “Looking forward to the next round.”

“It was awesome to have all of our tennis fans cheering for the girls today,” added head coach J.D. Webster, whose squad is undefeated on the season. The Saints started the year with a win at the Kick Start Tournament in Grand Junction on Feb. 28 and have gone 9-0 in team duals since. They also topped an eight-team field at Centaurus on April 3.

“We’re so proud of these girls,” stated assistant coach Kirsten Webster. “They have worked so hard to be the number one team in the state.”

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On Wednesday, both Vail Christian’s No. 1 doubles (Olivia Zajac and Autumn Woods) and No. 3 doubles (Paige Asbury and Sabrina Nabonsal) teams shut out their Conifer competitors. Then, Camden Allen and Iris Blanch defeated Kenzie Ross and Agota Kic 6-0, 6-4 at No. 2 doubles and Charly Landa and Corbynn Leonard took down Avery Knecht and Sage Recker 6-0, 6-2 at the No. 4 doubles slot.

The Saints face No. 8 Eaton — which beat No. 9 St. Mary’s Academy 5-2 in the first round — in the quarterfinals on Friday in Edwards. Matches begin at 2 p.m. on the four outside courts, beginning with singles and No. 1 doubles and ending with Nos. 2, 3 and 4 doubles.

All of the top seeds advanced out of the first round.

Up until a couple years ago, the Colorado state team title was awarded to the school that accumulated the most total points at the individual state tournament. In 2024, the Colorado High School Activities Association switched to having a separate team state tournament in addition to an individual state tournament. Last year, Vail Christian won its first-round team state matchup over Dawson School before falling to Holy Family 4-3 in the quarterfinals. Top-ranked Peak to Peak claimed the team state crown — its first since going back-to-back in 2018 and 2019 — with a 4-3 win in the finals over Prospect Ridge Academy.

Vail Christian’s tennis program, which pulls from all four schools in Eagle County, has been building significant momentum over the last four years. In 2022, the team won every regional championship draw and wound up fifth as a team at state. The following spring, the Saints once again advanced their entire lineup to the state tournament, where they picked up multiple individual titles. The 2024 team also went 7-for-7 on the individual side and advanced to the team state finals after a dramatic 4-3 semifinal win over Peak to Peak at Homestead. The Saints ended up losing 4-3 in the state championship to Colorado Academy.

Last year, the team qualified its whole lineup to the individual state tournament for the fourth-straight time. Blanch became the program’s sixth state champion in the last three years when she claimed the No. 2 singles title, joining her brother, Daniel (No. 2 singles 2023), Heidi Iverson and Sofia Elalayli (No. 4 doubles, 2023) and Aria Webster and Kamryn Mitchell (No. 2 doubles, 2023) Daniel Blanch is currently a freshman at Colorado Mesa and another alumni, Jessie Allen, is now in her first season at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California.

Vail Christian begins its individual state tournament push next week. The 3A Region 8 tournament is slated for April 30 to May 1 at Canyon View Park in Delta. The Saints will go up against Aspen, Basalt, Cedaredge, Delta, Glenwood Springs, North Fork and Steamboat Springs. The top two players at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 singles as well as the top-2 teams at Nos. 1 through 4 doubles advance to the individual state tournament.

The respective 3A, 4A and 5A state tournaments are May 7-9 at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs, Pueblo City Park in Pueblo and Denver Tennis Park in Denver.