By Michael Moroney ’13
THE ROUNDUP
The Broncos tennis team entered the first round state playoff matchup as the top seed in Division I and walked away sweeping the tournament.
They played against No. 16 Westview Tuesday, April 23.
The squad finished the season with a 13-1 record, with their only loss being a 5-4 defeat against Mesa Mountain View. However, head coach Mr. Bill Woods only used one of his top three players in the matchup.
“We are definitely ready, it’s what we’ve been preparing for all year,” said Kyle Chalmers ’13. “It helps that we won state last year and the team has experience.”
The Broncos have home court advantage through the second round because they achieved the top seed.
“First things first, I think we all want to win the team tournament first, but I’m also trying for an individual title,” said Hudson Blake ’13.
Blake and Chalmers had been the Broncos’ top two ranked players since the beginning of the season.
Blake entered the Division I Singles State Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the state and Chalmers is seeded at No. 3.
“Hudson and I have always played off each other, trying to compete and improve at all times,” Chalmers said. “This year it really pushed us and now we are both trying to win a state title.”
There are only a total of eight singles players competing in the state tournament and the quarterfinals were set to begin Friday, April 26.
Brophy is also represented in the Division I Doubles State Tournament with David Akin ’15 and Michael Cowan ’15 qualified as the No. 7 seed. The duo played a doubles team from Mesquite in the first round.
Throughout the season, the Broncos faced top ranked Arizona and out-of-state schools. For example, Brophy defeated No. 4 Desert Mountain 8-1 in a March 20 match. Brophy competed in the California Tennis Classic and finished No. 5 out of 117 teams in the early March tournament.
The tennis season concluded May 4 with the final round of the team state tournament.
Over a one week period, the Broncos swept the tennis state championship circuit. Blake captured the singles state title April 27 while his teammates Akin and Cowan won the doubles state title the same day.
The following weekend, Saturday, May 4, the Brophy tennis team won its second Division I title in as many years. The Broncos defeated the Salpointe Lancers 5-0.
The team did not allow any playoff opponent to win a single set as they won their four matches by a score of 5-0.
