Skiers tennis team off to fast start

ASPEN Not a single Aspen girls tennis player qualified for last spring’s state championships. A 4-1 start to the season, however, has Skiers coach Scott Dorais thinking of the possibility of all of his varsity players earning spots at the 4A tourney in Pueblo at the beginning of May.Dorais isn’t letting his players get ahead of themselves, though.The Skiers still have their toughest matches ahead of them, with duals against Steamboat Springs, Glenwood Springs and a rematch against Vail Mountain School – Aspen’s only team loss so far – looming on the calendar. Then again, through five matches this season Aspen has been surprisingly impressive. The Skiers won six out of seven matches against Durango at the Maroon Creek Club on Saturday. There have also been lopsided wins over Delta, Cedaredge and Roaring Fork, and, to note, the team loss to VMS came after Aspen players lost three third-set tiebreakers.”Across the board, I think every position that’s here has a legitimate chance,” Dorais said. “It’s definitely not going to be easy. Steamboat is going to be Steamboat, and Montrose and Glenwood Springs are also within our region and are going to be tough.”The Skiers got a boost at the start of the season when French exchange student Clara Kobuch won the No. 1 singles spot.Kobuch’s easy win (6-0, 6-0) over Durango’s Molly Davis on Saturday improved her record to 4-1.With Kobuch firmly entrenched at No. 1, Dorais moved last year’s top singles player, Demetra Kayne, to the No. 2 spot, where she has thrived. Kayne also has a 4-1 record after her a win in straight sets (6-1, 7-5) over Durango’s Samantha Mayors.The only Skiers singles player to hold onto her spot from last year is No. 3 Jordan Meyer, a sophomore who is also off to a 4-1 start after she held off held off Durango’s Kelly Flemming in three sets (6-4, 3-6, 10-6).”I think all three of our singles players have a great chance of getting to the state tournament,” Dorais said. “Having Clara step in at No. 1 and allowing Demetra to step down and play at No. 2, they both have a good chance if they continue to get better. As for Jordan, last year she was only one or two points away from making it to state. I’m expecting a lot from all of them.”As is the coach from his doubles teams, including the freshman-senior tandem of Casey Altman and Robin Landis, who are a perfect 5-0 at No. 1. Landis was at No. 2 singles last year, but Kobuch’s arrival allowed Dorais to switch up his lineup, and so far the move has paid off.”Robin is a tremendous doubles player, and she is going to bring Casey along,” Dorais said. “Casey is working hard and has a ton of potential.”The pair won a tough match Saturday to stay perfect, beating Kate Gillis and Sarah Gardner in three sets (6-3, 5-7, 10-7).Aspen’s No. 2 doubles tandem of seniors Haylen Gregory and Julianne Davis also had some good competition against Durango, downing Katy Watt and Sloane Phillips by winning a tight second set (6-1, 7-6) to improve to 4-1.The No. 3 doubles team of junior Annie Buettow and sophomore Hana MacLean are also 4-1 after a win in straight sets (6-4, 6-4) over Dani Knibbs and Ti Eversole. Freshman Georgia Lipkin and sophomore Rio Crandall were the only Aspen players to lose Saturday, falling to Durango’s Lindsey Lewis and Annika Felten, 6-1, 6-1. The loss dropped the duo to 3-2.”None of these girls have been to state, so I would hope that’s motivation,” Dorais said. “I would hope that’s something that they’re all shooting for. Match to match, they’ve got to stay focused.”Nate Peterson’s e-mail address is npeterson@aspentimes.com