Prep notebook: Vail Christian tennis starts the season with three wins
Vail Christian took over as host for the county this season
Paul Soriano/Courtesy photo
The host school for girls tennis in Eagle County may have switched over from Vail Mountain School to Vail Christian, but one thing hasn’t changed: the winning.
Last year, the program, then led by Hillary and Steve McSpadden, made history, placing fifth at the 3A state tennis tournament. The No. 3 doubles team of Jenna Elalayli and Juliet Studness advanced to the program’s first state final. That came a week after the group swept all seven finals at the 3A Region 8 championships.
Though not paired together at the No. 3 doubles slot currently, both Elalayli and Studness have returned for the Saints, who are out to a 3-0 start this spring. Vail Christian, now led by coach J.D. Webster, took down Durango 5-2 and Montrose 6-1 at the Canyon View Tournament on March 4. Then, the team went to Lafayette on March 6 and defeated Dawson School 7-0.
“We have a great team this year; I’m so excited for our season,” said Webster, who said he has almost 30 kids on the roster. “We have such incredible players and coaches. These girls have put in awesome work in the off season to be ready to compete at the highest level.”
Homestead Court Club pro Eric Meyer, along with Erica Studness, Kristy Maslan and Kirsten Webster are assisting on the coaching staff.
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Annika Iverson defeated Isabelle Jacobsma 6-4, 6-1, Summer Sveum rolled over Maddie Wittenberg 6-1, 6-0 and Studness took care of Kathleen Donohue 6-0, 6-1 in the No. 1, 2 and 3 singles matches, respectively against Dawson School.
Jessie Allen and Aria Webster — teammates on the Saints volleyball squad in the fall — led the team’s dominant display in the doubles matches that day. Their win in the No. 1 slot was followed by wins from the No. 2 team of Anna Baker and Kamryn Mitchell (6-2, 6-1), the No. 3 team of Jenna Elalayi and Sofie Brunner taking (6-1, 6-0) and the No. 4 team — Sofia Elalayi and Heidi Iverson. The freshmen pulled out a 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 win.
“It’s exciting to see girls and boys tennis thriving in our valley,” Webster said. “I feel very blessed to be the head coach and lift up these young players and coaches. The future is bright for the future of tennis in our valley.”
The first home match for the Saints is April 15 against D’Evelyn.
Devils girls soccer falls to Grand Junction Central in season opener
Grand Junction Central received two goals from Liana Bryan and another from Danessa Cordero as the Warriors defeated Eagle Valley in girls soccer on Tuesday. The non-league road loss has the Devils starting the season 0-1, but they’ll have a chance to get in the win column at home on Thursday against league foe Glenwood Springs (0-1). Last year, Eagle Valley finished 4-4-2 in league play, good for third in the 4A Western Slope.
