Brophy, DM, Catalina win tennis crowns
Some of the most successful tennis teams in Arizona high school history added to their trophy cases on Saturday.
Brophy Prep won the Arizona Interscholastic Association Division I Boys title, Desert Mountain won the Division I Girls championship and Catalina Foothills won both titles in Division II at Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale to conclude the 2022 season.
Here’s how each program won the team championship.
Division I Boys
Jack Brown was locked in.
Up 5-4 in the second set, the Brophy Prep senior aced Chaparral’s Matteo Moss three straight times to reach match point. When Moss’ shot sailed out a few moments later, that seriousness turned into celebration.
Brown dropped his racket and fist pumped with both hands. Teammates flooded the court in celebration and huddled around him as he clinched Brophy Prep’s first Division I Boys title since 2019.
“Just to be able to finish it out for my team, that was really important to me,” said Brown, who is continuing his playing career at Air Force. “I’m going to remember it forever.”
A 5-0 victory for the top-ranked Broncos not only returned them to the pinnacle of Arizona high school tennis, but also marked the program’s seventh championship in the last 10 seasons, including the fourth under head coach and former Brophy player Eric Chalmers.
Brophy didn’t drop a set in each of the singles matches, continuing the oncourt supremacy found throughout their 18-0 campaign that included two wins over No. 2 Chaparral by a combined score of 13-1.
“I’m ecstatic, elated for the guys to really get that feeling back,” Chalmers said. “Last year was such a tough loss for the whole team. To see these guys, the excitement and how hard they worked this year and to be rewarded that way is great.”
Even though a chance at revenge against 2021 champion Desert Mountain fell through due to the Wolves’ loss in the quarterfinals, the Broncos embraced the championship stage against the Firebirds, who returned to the title game for the first time since 2016.
Sophomore Andre Johnson, who won the No. 5 singles match 6-0, 6-1 over Jeremy Lee, found that Brophy came out with good pace and energy.
Meanwhile, the players were supported by a number of fellow students and spectators. Many of them donned red clothing to symbolize one of the school colors.
Some of the attendees were members of the Broncos’ lacrosse program that won yesterday’s state championship.
“It just represents how close the Brophy community is,” Johnson said.
Division I Girls
Before its doubles contests, No. 1 Desert Mountain took the opportunity to create a clean slate.
The Wolves had failed to clinch the state title against second-ranked Xavier Prep in singles play, but needed just one match to win it all. So they talked strategy and prepared themselves for the task ahead, rather than focusing on previous games.
“We all support each other,” head coach Kim Dever said. “We knew what we had to do going into the doubles.”
They certainly did, as the Wolves
won their second straight Division I Girls title and fourth since 2017. The 5-2 victory earned the Wolves an 18-0 record and their second consecutive undefeated championship season under Dever.
Desert Mountain’s No. 3 doubles squad, sophomores Reese Schibel and Chae Rin Youn, delivered the titleclinching win.
After not dropping a game to their previous three postseason opponents, the Wolves earned the first victory of the championship as freshman Tessa Wachtel defeated Xavier Prep’s Victoria Chrostowski 6-0, 6-0. Other wins soon came from junior Julia Frazier, Youn, and senior Analise Wachtel, who rebounded from a first set defeat to win 67(5), 6-0, 10-7.
Even though Schibel and Savanna Kollock fell in their singles matches, Dever remained confident because she believed her singles players and doubles teams were equally strong. She was soon proved right, as each tandem led 7-2 in games to eight ahead of Schibel and Youn’s win.
Both players and Kollock believe this year’s title is significant in that it not only raises the team’s profile as a yearin, year-out contender, but also represents the power of the Wolves’ team unity. Youn added that many of the team members are close with one another and train together.
Division II Boys
Following No. 1 Catalina Foothills’ championship match, junior Grant Cohen recalled that people thought the Falcons were beatable, despite them earning the singles and doubles titles on Monday and winning every team championship since 2014.
So this afternoon, Cohen and his teammates made sure to prove the doubters wrong with an 5-0 victory over No. 3 Estrella Foothills that gave Catalina Foothills its eighth consecutive Division II title.
“The win definitely cements us as the top team,” Cohen said, “and continuing the legacy.”
The Falcons’ top three singles players -- junior and Division II singles winner Jared Perry, Cohen and his brother Austin, the division doubles winners -- set the tone with 6-0, 6-0 victories, while Jason Jia, Nico Barrutia-Pierson and Santiago Lietzau helped clinch the title.
Head coach Jeffrey Bloomberg credited his team’s fast start to a strong overall performance, which is promising for the future since the entire starting roster returns next year.
Bloomberg inserted three new players into the lineup this season, which paid off well as the Falcons allowed just 12 total games across today’s matches and one point during its playoff run.
Catalina Foothills’ title clinched the team’s first undefeated season (17-0) since 2019.
“I definitely think we’re going to try to be right back,” Cohen said. “Get it again. Go for two.”
Division II Girls
In each of Catalina Foothills’ last three team state titles, the No. 1 Falcons won 5-0 to clinch the championship before doubles competition.
That changed Saturday, as the Falcons led 4-2 after singles play. But concern couldn’t be found in coach Daniel Root and his players. Instead, they radiated confidence.
“Our doubles team is the defending state champion,” Root said. “They were going to win this match. I had 100 percent, a million confidence in them. We’ve just got super strong doubles teams.”
He was right, as Catalina Foothills clinched their fourth straight state championship following the retirement of one of No. 3 Arcadia’s top doubles team. According to Arcadia head coach Brian Corte, one of the players was suffering “significant, repeated cramping” and as a result, the tandem made the decision to retire and “not risk physical injury.”
Reigning Division II doubles champions Abbigail Mulick and Sophia Silverman, along with Serena Hsu and Morgan Filer, won their singles matches in dominant fashion, giving up just six games collectively.
Hsu defeated her opponent, Ashley Cowley, 6-0, 6-0.