Editor’s Note: The Torrington High School tennis team competed at the state championships in Gillette from September 26-28.

By COACH LAUREN SHIELDS

Contributing writer

GILLETTE – The state tournament began on Thursday in Gillette. 

Boysí singles

Senior Skyler Thomas beat Kelly Walsh in the first round and senior Elijah Hatch beat Powell in the first round to secure matches on Friday. 

I was excited to see how Skyler would do against Kelly Walsh. They had played earlier in the season and Skyler lost that match. At that time, Skyler was still having a lot of unforced errors in matches and was struggling with his serve and how to finish out points.

Over the past few weeks, Skyler figured some of these things out and was playing great tennis. He won the match against Kelly Walsh at state, 6-2 and 6-4. 

In his second match on Thursday, Skyler played Sheridan. Skyler knew this was going to be a challenging match. He lost the first set, 6-0. Skyler focused and changed up his game plan and won four games in the second set.

On Friday, Skyler played Rawlins in a rematch from regionals. Skyler won this match, 7-6 and 6-2. He battled to play another match against Powell and lost, 6-0 and 6-4.

Skyler’s improvement this season is remarkable. He does a great job identifying opponents’ strengths, weaknesses and tendencies. In my time coaching tennis, Skyler is the first No. 1 singles boy to win two matches at state. I am so proud of him and sad to see his high school tennis career end. I hope he will try to continue his tennis career into college.

Elijah beat his opponent in the first match at state, 7-5 and 6-4. Elijah did really good things in his match. 

Elijah lost his next match to Sheridan, 6-0 and 6-4. He is a strong competitor and always wants to win and win big. This gets in his way at times on the court. In the second set, Elijah was able to think less and just play and he won some games.

Friday morning, Elijah played Green River. He was doing all of the right things, but his shots were not always staying in the court and he lost, 6-2 and 6-4. 

I am sad to see Elijah’s tennis career end, but I’m excited to see what the future holds for him and his goal of playing college soccer.

Boys doubles

The No. 1 doubles team – sophomores Benaiah Steinbrecher and Braxton Carlson – lost their first match against Thunder Basin, 6-0 and 6-0. 

The team played Natrona County next. Earlier in the season, the boys beat NC in three sets. This match was also an exciting three-set match that Ben and Braxton won, 6-1, (4-6) and 6-4. They came out and played great tennis and were volleying great and serving well. 

Braxton and Ben were down, 4-1, in the third set. They came back and won the next five games in a row. They locked in and played how they did in the first set, hitting angles on their volleys and keeping the ball away from the net. The boys went on to play Cody and lost, 6-0 and 6-3.

I am excited to have Ben and Braxton back next year and see what they are able to do with more experience.

The No. 2 doubles team – seniors Marcus Jones and Gabe Posten – went 1-2 at state. They lost their first match to Cody, 6-1 and 6-2.

They played Campbell County in their second match and rallied to win in three sets, (1-6), 6-0 and 6-3. Coach (Curtis) Birkley told Marcus and Gabe that it was time to give it their all and they won the next sets in order to play on Friday.

The team fell to Kelly Walsh on Friday, 6-4 and 6-1. They played hard and stayed in each point in the first set. 

These boys consistently demonstrated good sportsmanship and worked well together. Gabe and Marcus have a special place in my heart having played all four years of high school and knowing them since elementary school. I wish them the best in their future endeavors.

The No. 3 doubles team – sophomores Maxton Matthews and Carter Hendricks – fell to Cody, 6-3 and 6-4, and lost the second round to Jackson, 6-4 and 6-1.

Max’s serving was the best of the season, racking up several aces and greatly frustrating his opponents. Carter provided great net coverage and threw in some great serves of his own.

Girls singles

Senior Madix McIntosh played against Jackson in the first round and lost, 6-1 and 6-0. In her second match she played Cheyenne South and won, 6-1 and 6-4. Madix was more consistent – she was hitting her spots better and had some long rallies. 

Friday morning, Madix played Green River for the third time in three weeks and lost, 6-0 and 6-1. Her opponent just came out and was hitting amazing shots.

Madix improved so much over her three seasons of tennis. I love her spunky personality and her work ethic is awesome. I hope she pursues tennis in college. I will miss having Madix on the team – she constantly wanted to work to improve in every way.

In No. 2 singles, junior Laney Grubbs fell in both matches at state. Laney started having shoulder pain before state. She never quits, though, and works hard and always has a smile on her face.

Laney is consistent in the things she does. We just need to work to improve her pace and some shot-making abilities. I’m excited to see what next year will bring.

Girls doubles

Our No. 1 doubles team – sophomores Madison Hatch and Aftyn Hager – lost both matches at state. These girls really started to play well together. Madison was consistent from the baseline with her ground strokes and Aftyn really floated and played the net well.

I’m thrilled Madison and Aftyn will have two more years of tennis to play. They just keep getting better and have great attitudes.

The No. 2 doubles team of junior Haley DeFoe and sophomore Keelin Connelly improved so much this year. These girls are fun to watch when they are doing things well. 

Haley and Keelin also lost both matches at state. 

I have had multiple coaches approach me about these girls’ outstanding sportsmanship and kindness they display on the court. They will be back next year, which makes me excited about the future of our girls’ team.

The No. 3 team – juniors Addison Hansen and Sinai Hernandez – played well in their loss to Thunder Basin (6-4 and 6-1) with several close games in the first set.

Addison and Sinai were able to run down some difficult shots and keep points in play while placing the ball strategically both with their serving and returns. They ran into some tough net opponents in their loss to Green River (6-1 and 6-1), but served well and continued to improve in working as a team.