Five state tennis singles champs — 2 repeaters — are from Albuquerque
Speziani is first champion for Hope
How appropriate that on Cinco de Mayo, there were five state singles champions from Albuquerque on Thursday.
Two of the five were repeat champions. The other three were first-timers — one of them a history-maker — on a warm day at the Jerry Cline Tennis Complex.
BOYS: Eldorado sophomore Mike Mounho blazed through Hobbs’ Sagar Patel 6-3, 6-0 in less than 45 minutes in the 6A championship match for his first state title.
“No one really knows me right now,” Mounho, the No. 2 seed, said. “This is definitely something special.”
Patel, seeded fourth, was perhaps fatigued, and who could blame him after requiring three sets to win both his quarterfinal and semifinal matches, which also were Thursday. In both, he lost the opening set at love before coming back.
Albuquerque Academy’s Malachi Coleman also was a first-time champion. The Chargers’ junior routed teammate Henry Collis 6-1, 6-4 in a matchup of the top two seeds in the 5A bracket.
“It’s tough playing Henry,” Coleman said. “It’s tough playing someone who knows my game as well.”
Coleman dropped only seven games total in his three match victories Thursday.
Robertson’s top-seeded Warren Fulgenzi on Thursday became a three-time state champ, after beating No. 2 seed Will McDermott of St. Michael’s in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0, for the 1A-4A crown.
Fulgenzi, a senior, successfully defended his 2015 title, and he also won a third, as an eighth-grader with Santa Fe High. It was a memorable Thursday for the Fulgenzi family (continue reading into the girls’ recap for more).
All three doubles finals were matchups between teammates.
Bosque School’s Wi l l Katzman and Neil Katzman, the top seed, beat No. 7 Cameron Wall and August Walker of the Bobcats, 6-1, 6-2 in the 1A-4A final. In 5A, Academy’s Coleman Hootman and Hunter Hootman, seeded second, bested the top-seeded Chargers’ tandem of Jack Keller and Abraham Yohannes, 6-3, 6-3. And in Class 6A, La Cueva’s Kyler Kunzler and Tyler Paddor, the No. 1 seed, bested their second-seeded teammates, Caleb Campos and Jason Lyons, 6-4, 6-3.
GIRLS: Ivana Corley of Eldorado and Melissa Pick of Academy winning state was expected — but the victory by Hope Christian junior Victo-
ria Speziani in the 1A-4A final gave the Huskies their firstever state singles champion in either gender.
In the last match of a very long day and evening Thursday, the second-seeded Speziani outlasted No. 1 Patty Borunda of Mesilla Valley Christian, 6-4, 7-6 (4). “Pretty great,” Speziani said. Borunda was bat t l ing cramps in the second set, and Speziani felt an urgent need to take the second-set tiebreaker and not let Borunda have a chance to regroup between the second and third sets.
“I came into the tournament knowing I had a good game,” Speziani said. “I wanted to play like it was a regular-season match.”
Corley completed an Eldorado sweep in 6A singles, swarming No. 2 seed Caitleen Dennis of Hobbs 6-1, 6-2. Corley, the No. 1 seed, dominated in all three of her matches Thursday, losing a total of four games over six sets.
“It was nice getting the second one,” Corley said, referring to her state title a year ago. “Last year, I was so shocked and overwhelmed. It was cool knowing how it was gonna be (this year).”
The Wisconsin-bound Pick, seeded first in 5A, won her fourth singles title, defeating teammate Dani Apodaca, the No. 2 seed, 6-0, 6-2. Both are fifth-year seniors.
“It’s really exciting to end on a high note,” Pick said. “And a great way to end high school tennis.”
Pick also won titles as an eighth-grader, freshman and junior.
“I played really loose today and I tried to go for everything,” Pick said.
The 6A doubles title went to Albuquerque High’s No. 1 Abby Nielsen and Maddie Chavez, who downed No. 2 Sarianna Kuuttila and Christine Roerick of La Cueva, 6-4, 7-5. Centennial sisters Carrie and Christa Alberson took 5A doubles.
The 1A-4A doubles final was the most fascinating of the day. Warren Fulgenzi’s sisters, Brandi and Lauren, defeated his cousins, Jacy and Jenese Fulgenzi, in straight sets. All four play for Robertson, and they were the top two seeds.