Country Day sweeps Division III finals
Division III Boys
Sam Tepper remembers how the Phoenix Country Day Eagles’ Boys Tennis team not only made the state finals when he was a freshman, but also helped build a strong culture.
So over the last three years, Tepper and his teammates have been carrying on their principles by teaching younger players and leading by example. Those lessons, he believed, helped the topranked Eagles win their second straight Division III team title on Saturday night over No. 2 AZ College Prep.
“The culmination of everything shows how powerful this program is,” Tepper said, “not only at winning championships, but in reading great players and really great people.”
Under 27-year head coach Jerry Keever, Phoenix Country Day won backto-back titles for the first time since 2009-10. Keever called the title “tremendous” and that it was driven by a “combination of talent” and a “combination of will.”
The Eagles’ 5-1 victory came in the final singles match of the night as senior Ashton Kroeger, the 2019 and 2021 division singles champion (competition wasn’t held in 2020 due to COVID-19), faced off against Andrew Yang, the reigning Division III singles winner. Kroeger won the first set 6-4, lost the second 2-6, and won the tiebreaker 10-5, a rally he admitted may not have happened without the support of his teammates.
“The energy was immaculate and looking over and seeing all of my friends that I’ve played tennis with for four-plus years... it was just a feeling that I’ll never forget,” Kroeger said.
Tepper quickly jumped in to add that there is nothing like the feeling of rushing the court after a victory, especially one that clinched his team’s 15-0 record following a regular season with a 98-1 mark in match play.
Even though the four seniors are graduating soon, they are confident that future teams will successfully follow in their championship footsteps.
“It meant a lot for me,” senior Tanti
Felli said. “For the school to win this championship, it’s amazing just to see the pure happiness on all my friends’ faces.”
Division III Girls
Elsa Jackson has spent four years on Phoenix Country Day’s Girls Tennis team. The senior and her teammates spent numerous hours practicing and working towards a key goal: the Division III team state title.
On Saturday, Jackson and her teammates finally achieved that aspiration as the No. 2 Eagles defeated No. 4 Scottsdale Prep, 5-0, for their first championship in a decade.
“It means so much to have this reward,” Jackson said, “and to be able to come out of it in a very special way.”
2022 marked the first time since 2009 that both Phoenix Country Day’s Boys and Girls Tennis teams won the Division III state title in the same year.
“We were taking it step-by-step and just really having intention between each of our plays and focusing on each point,” senior Daniela Castro-Martinez said. “That was what led to our success.”
The Eagles came into the team state title match with a lot of momentum after going undefeated in the regular season and earning a 98-1 record in match play alongside the Boys team. Beating three postseason opponents by a combined score of 15-1 helped as well.
The Eagles asserted themselves on the court by not giving up more than three games in any singles matches behind the strong showing of players including Castro-Martinez, Milan Sewell, Julia Black and Misha Ghafouri.
Ayelet Jaffee and Taylor Black played key roles as well, winning their matches 6-3, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-1, respectively. Today’s victory gave Phoenix Country Day a 15-0 overall record.
“To me, they are my family,” CastroMartinez said. “I just love them so much. We’ve had so many great memories together. It’s been so worth it and so rewarding that we’ve been able to pull this out. I’m just so happy right now.”