Prep tennis: Top-seeded St. Michael’s begins journey at state
Related
Advertisement
5/7/2008 - 5/8/08
Never had Kevin Skelly seen the perfect storm building like this: Momentum was shifting and spreading from court to court and shot to shot.The team of 10 was growing into one with a purpose. It was palpable. Then it was historic.
"It was something we had never done," says Skelly, St. Michael's head boys tennis coach.
What the Horsemen did was beat the two-time reigning Class A-AAA state champion Cardinals of Las Vegas Robertson for the District 2AAA title on Friday. It was the first time in Skelly's almost six-year tenure that St. Michael's had defeated Robertson.
"(Robertson head coach) Juan Carlos (Fulgenzi) sets the bar pretty high," Skelly says. "Two weeks ago we lost to them (5-4)."
The Horsemen repaid the favor by the same tally, taking three of six singles matches and two of three in doubles play.
It ended years of looking up at Robertson, and for its trouble, St. Michael's earned the No. 1 seed in the A-AAA State Team Tournament, which begins today in Albuquerque. Robertson is No. 2.
"It's absolutely huge for us," Skelly says.
While the St. Michael's boys had to ascend to the No. 1 spot, the Los Alamos girls were just holding serve. The Lady Hilltoppers are the reigning Class AAAA champs, and have won six state titles since the state began holding its tournaments in 1993. Los Alamos has blazed this trail before, but it never gets old.
"It's always nice to get the No. 1 seed," says Lady Hilltoppers head coach Bruce Cottrell, the architect of the Los Alamos program, who has held his post for more than 15 seasons.
The Los Alamos boys have also qualified (second seed), as has No. 6 Taos on the boys side.
Santa Fe Preparatory and St. Michael's will send girls teams as Nos. 3 and 6 seeds in A-AAA. Taos is seeded sixth in AAAA.
When Cottrell took over at Los Alamos, the Lady Hilltoppers' class was dominated by Albuquerque Academy.
The Lady Chargers won five straight state titles, beginning in 1994. But Cottrell was building a championship program player by player, and by 2000, Los Alamos would lay claim to its first state title.
The string of blue trophies would continue until 2004. For the Academy fans, that's also five straight.
In fact, only two schools other than Academy and Los Alamos have
won team titles in the same classification: Albuquerque St. Pius X and Portales.
The Lady Hilltoppers have no intention of that changing this season.
"We're a very deep team," Cottrell says. "We know we have to play very well, but we feel pretty confident."
Los Alamos beat No. 3 Farmington 6-3 on March 29. It's the team the Lady Hilltoppers are most concerned with even though Academy is seeded No. 2.
Cottrell feels the Lady Scorpions have the depth to match up.
And the key to team tennis is always depth.
"Someone might not play as well and then someone will surprise you and play better," Cottrell says. "You look at St. Michael's and Robertson, it's one match every time."
The Horsemen, who are looking for their first team title, hope the momentum stays on their side. This time of year, it's a must.
IF YOU GO …
What: State Team Tennis Tournament
When: Today, 4 p.m.
Where: Albuquerque Academy, Jerry Cline Tennis Center