photo by Hanna Kazlouskaya

In the first week of May, TJ tennis girls’ began their three day journey in the 4A regional championship. The competition at regionals included schools like Regis, Colorado Academy, Jefferson, Kennedy and more. Each school had its own strength and advantage in the competition with TJ following strongly behind.

The toughest competitors proved to be Regis and Colorado Academy, the usual candidates for qualifiers at state. But the girls from TJ did not give up their high spirits to the competition. In the first day of regionals, all of the girls got a bye and were lucky enough to move on to the second round, which was held on the second day. That is when the real competition began. “Of course it was intimidating playing against girls who have been playing tennis since they were little, who have personal coaches and train every day, but we made sure that we gave our best on the court and did not leave without a fight,” said Senior #1 Doubles player Kiara Wright.

All of the girls put their heart and soul out when it was their time to play, and proved to be a team worth playing. “It was hard for the girls to play against such tough schools.  I am proud that they went out there and did their best without giving up,” said Head Coach Tim Cueva. None of the girls qualified for state, but the younger girls who played varsity are already looking forward to next year and hopefully fulfilling the dream of one day making it to state.

“Next year I am determined to win as many matches as I can and push myself to be a better tennis player. I want to win and give TJ a better reputation for the girls’ tennis team,” said Sophomore Marissa Olan, a player who everyone should keep an eye on. The tennis team ended their season with a 5-5 record.

Photo by Hanna Kazlouskaya

This past week the girls went up against East and Jefferson before a close to their season. The match against East has always been a tough one and this year was no different. The girls could not pull off a win, loosing with a score of 6-1. “East has always been our biggest rival.  This year we didn’t do that great going up against them, but I hope next year we can pull together and try to win,” said Junior Becca Hansen.

The very next day another match was scheduled against Jefferson High School; this was the first time that this school has been in the DPS region and the girls were excited for the new competition. The team pulled through with a win 6-1. “It was nice playing someone new; we had a great time and now we are ready for regionals,” said Senior Catherine Ramirez.

As the season comes to a close the Varsity girls are spending a week preparing for regionals, which are scheduled to take place at Colorado Academy on May 4^th.  “This has been a tough season for the girls; we had some good opponents that we played, but the girls tried their best,” said Head Coach Tim Cueva. “But now it’s time to gear up for regionals, which will be some of the toughest matches that the girls will have to play.”

Photo by Hannah Kazlovskaya

TJ girls’ tennis has been having a successful season with the last two wins against West and Lincoln High School. So far the girls have an overall season score of 4-2 and are trying to keep the win’s stacking up.

West proved to be a match with difficulties when the weather changed suddenly from sun to snow, but the girls held on to their win. “It snowed last year during this match as well, and once again we were able to hold on to our victory,” said Senior Kiara Wright. TJ girls won that match with an impressive score of 7-0.

The week after that the team went to Lincoln High School, winning another match. The final score was 6-1. “The girls are strong and put up a good fight against the opposing team. I think that they have a good chance at winning the City League Championship,” said Head Coach Tim Cueva. “Since this year the boys brought back home the City League Title for the first time since the 80’s, I think the girls have a good shot at doing the same.”

This week the girls are going up against George Washington High School on Tuesday April 12^th at GW, and Thursday April 14^th they will be playing East, at TJ. The girls are also having a tournament this Friday at TJ all day long, so make sure to stop by and support the girls on the courts.

Photo by Hanna Kazlovskaya

This has been a tough week for the Girls’ Tennis team. With three matches in a row the girls push themselves to try and win all of them. On Tuesday the girls played Montbello High School, Wednesday played Bear Creek High School, and on Thursday going against West High School on the home courts.

The game against Montbello was an easy match that the girls’ won with a score of 7-0. Junior #3 singles player Becca Hansen had one of the toughest matches for the team. “The wind was a difficulty to play with! It kept messing me up and it was getting very frustrating, but I am glad I was able to regain my composure and quickly learned how to play with the wind,” said Hansen

The next day the girls went to Bear Creek High School to play their fourth match of the season.  The girls came out with a disappointing loss, 2-5 against Bear Creel. The only people who were able to pull off   a win were #1 Doubles Catherine Ramirez and Kiara Wright and the #4 Doubles Marissa Olan and Brealle Cueva. “We had a really close match! The first set we won and the second set we were coming into a tie. Breaking the tie was the most stressful part, but we were able to get to it,” said Ramirez.

The girls are playing their match Thursday against the West on the TJ courts at 3:30!

Photo by Hanna Kazlouskaya

Girls’ tennis had its first match yesterday against South High School and claimed a victory. The real first match should have been March 8^th, but due to snow and cold weather the game was canceled, to be rescheduled for later in the season.

This win against South, 5-2, has set the bar for what the rest of the season should look like for the girls. “I was nervous to play at first, but this turned out to be a good match and has gotten me excited for the upcoming season,” said Senior Doubles player Catherine Ramirez, who won her match with a score of 6-0, 6-1.

The Varsity singles line-up for the 2011 season is: #1 Hanna Kazlouskya, #2 Becca Hansen, #3 Mocha NaaAmartey. The doubles line-up is: #1 Catherine Ramirez and Kiara Wright, #2 Jasmie Koanui and Celeste Pegues, #3 Chanel Berumen and Cassie Ellingson, #4 Marissa Olan and Brealle Cueva.

“The girls are looking sharp this year. We have retained most of our varsity squad since last year, but we did get a few new girls to the team, and they have proved that they know how to play and show a lot of determination,” said Head Coach Tim Cueva. “This is going to be a tough season for the girls with a few strong opposing teams such as Grandview, East, and GW.” This year the girls have also experienced a shift in the coaching, since previous Head Coach Kim Holtman has resigned from the coaching position.

The girls have a strong team this year and are looking forward to the season. “This is my last year playing and I am excited that we had a chance to start off the season with such a big win. It definitely sets the mood for the rest of the season,” said Senior Doubles player Wright.

The next match is today at 4:00 P.M. at Grandview, TJ so try to go out and support the ladies in hopes of bringing another victorious win.

Photo by Rebecca Holt

The Lady Spartan tennis team opened up its season by rebelling against South’s Rebels to achieve a 5-2 Victory.

Strong showings from the senior cast assisted in the team’s dominance on Thursday. Senior Freddi Gidan demonstrated why she is number one singles by obliterating her opponent in 6-2 and 6-0 wins. Senior Jamie Gray, not to be shown up, defeated her opponent on the other end of the court with 6-4 and 6-2 victorious performances. Gray says, “I was content with the way I played. Not only did it set a positive tone for my season as a whole, but it helped in the victory that put smiles on our faces looking forward to the rest of our season.”

Eying further victories down the road, the team expects to host a season heavy on the achievements and victories, light on the defeats. New assistant coach, Officer Tim Cueva shared his insight on the state of the team this season and into the future: “I really have no expectations this season, nothing bad and nothing really good either. The reason for this is due to how young our team is; we are going to be caught in a bit of learning phase this season. If that works out well then good things can only come in the future, but who is to say.” Cueva continued on to elaborate on Junior Hanna Kazlovskaya’s noticeable raw talent for her first year on the team that has earned her the No. 3 Singles spot. “If we can capture our young team’s desire, and continue fueling people like Hanna’s competitive spirit, I am positive we can field an exceptional squad in the future.” The season has only just begun, and though it will be a learning process the Lady Spartan tennis team will continue bringing home victories.

The tennis season has come to an end, but the Spartans are proud of the adversity they overcame. photo by Kevin Fleming

The end of Regionals for the Lady Spartan Tennis Team marks the end for the 2009 season. The Tennis team competed valiantly, but came up short in the end.

Even though the girls’ tennis team season ended short, the hopes for the future are easy to come by. With this year’s team consisting of mostly underclassmen, with the exceptions of only two seniors, Kaily Blackburn and Khalae Adams, the team has next year ahead of them to grow as individuals and as a team. Some old faces coming back include Jamie Gray and Freddi Gidan who are expected to lead the team into the future.

Blackburn hopes to keep competing, this time at the next level. She was very upset that her run had to end so early, due to an unexpected sinus infection that prevented her from competing in the regional tournament. She has high hopes for the future team, and knows that most of the team will return next season.  Due to their decent league record, 5-4, the hype for the girls’ tennis team has began to grow.

The Lady Spartans hope to grow significantly with the numerous amount of new prospects for the team. Even though the season ended in defeat, you can’t defeat the passion and excitement that many Thomas Jefferson High School tennis players are now showing.

Freddi Gidan will be a vital component for the rest the tennis season. photo by Kevin Fleming

The Thomas Jefferson Lady Spartans Tennis team battled adversity this past week, playing South with a diminished team. When the Spartans went to South in search of a big league win, they went with half a varsity squad.

Nonetheless, the team had high hopes and aspirations and nearly came away with the win, but ended up  losing 4-3. Leader, and four-time varsity starter Kaily Blackburn won her personal match, but was more proud of her fellow teammates and how they persevered through the tough week. Blackburn said, “I was so proud of how the girls played; half of them played their first varsity match that day, and they really gave it their all.”

That same weekend the tennis team went to the Lincoln Invitational and came away tied for third out of all the teams in the Denver Prep League. The highlight of the day was given to Blackburn; she went up against some really hard opponents and came out on top winning the entire match. She came away holding the first place trophy high above her head. With most of the season still in front of the Lady Spartans they have high hopes for the rest of this season. The Ladies gave it their best against the Patriots from George Washington last night, but came up short, losing 5-2. The inexperience of the Spartans showed last night playing a heavily senior dominated Patriots team. The season still has hope in the matches to come so watch out DPL because the Spartans are on the comeback.

Senior Kaily Blackburn sends a powerful backhand to her opponent in TJ's 7-0 over the West Cowboys on March 19. photo by Kevin Fleming

The girls’ tennis team took to the court prior to spring break in an attempt to win two big league matches. The Lady Spartans took on the East Angels and the West Cowboys in Denver Prep League play and experienced two incredibly different results.

The Spartans went down in defeat to the Angels 7-0, losing all of their matches. They played hard but the very experienced East team clearly out matched them with high speed serves and tenacious backhanded shots.

It was the other way around against West, as the Lady Spartans won across the board devastating the Cowboys in Spartan fashion. TJ won 7-0 and had an enormous confidence boost after the big win. Sophomore Mia Nogueira is impressed by the developing team chemistry. “After every match the squad becomes closer as a unit and are building skills together.  We are getting better and better, giving us a real positive outlook for the rest of the season,” said Nogueira.

The team is going to need this new found confidence as they take on the South Rebels next Tuesday, April 7 at South at 4:15.

Girls Tennis started off the season storng with a 6-1 victory over Montbello on March10. photo by Kevin Fleming

On March 12the Lady Spartan tennis team took on and handed a loss to fellow Denver Public Schools’ Montebello Warriors.

It was a dominating performance for all the tennis players, winning across the board with the exception of a forfeit by Kaily Blackburn, who was very upset at having to sit out the match. “I was really sad that I had to miss the first match of the season, but I’m really happy with how the rest of the team played, and I hope that I will be okay for next week’s match against East,” said Blackburn

The performance exhibited by these athletes is a sign of what is to come. The girls have a tough season in front of them and they hope to make the best of it. They anticipate doing what no former Lady Spartan tennis team has done before: qualifying for the Regional Tournament and making the State Tournament in May.