Mixed doubles: Niwot girls split season-opening matches

The Niwot girls tennis team found itself on both sides of a 4-3 final score during the opening week of the 2021 season, which was not entirely unexpected by longtime coach Aimee Keronen. A short preseason and an infusion of newcomers to the Cougars' 2021 lineup made a shaky debut performance almost inevitable, she said.

"We have a lot of freshmen this year, which is good," she said. "We're hoping we can get them in the right direction. It's a short season so it's tough, but we're going to do the best we can."

Heading the lineup for Niwot at No. 1 singles this year is sophomore Alys Pop, who went 2-0 in matches against Berthoud and Thompson Valley during opening week. As a freshman, she played No. 2 singles for the Cougars in two matches, before the pandemic canceled the 2020 season.

At No. 2 singles is junior Anna Sallee, one of the few returning varsity starters in 2021. Now in her third year with the team, she is also undefeated so far in the young season, and Keronen expects her to make a statement in the postseason.

Also returning to the team are junior Georgia Lang and senior Emily Creek, partnering at No. 1 doubles. Creek, the 2021 team captain, is thrilled to be back on the court but laments the loss of her junior season.

"Our team was pretty good, and we had a very strong chance of winning state," she said. "It was really rough to not get a shot at trying that. And the girls that graduated, they didn't get a chance to redeem themselves their senior year."

Creek and Lang are also 2-0 on the year so far, but Creek acknowledged that the lack of experience in the lineup is going to make their road to the state tournament a little bumpier.

"I think it's more of a learning thing," she said of Niwot's loss to Berthoud and close call against Thompson Valley. "Because a lot of people out here haven't played tennis for very long. But they're all getting it pretty fast, so I think before state and regionals they'll be ready for it."

Elsewhere for Niwot are newcomers Caitlyn Fong at No. 3 singles, senior Tehya Laughlin and freshman Tracy Yu at No. 2 doubles, junior Julia Price and sophomore Isabella Amodio at No. 3 doubles, and freshman Harper Behmer and junor Claire Butcher at No. 4 doubles, who won their match against the Eagles, giving Niwot its first win of 2021.

Niwot tennis makes its home debut on May 17 against Fort Morgan.