3A TENNIS: Anuja Daulat wins state title in match with The Meadows teammate
Anuja Daulat didn’t want to face her friend and teammate Saturday.
But afterward the senior said it was the perfect ending to her high school career to knock off her childhood friend and teammate from The Meadows, Abbigail Klein, in the state championship match 6-1, 6-3 at Tahoe Tennis Center in Truckee, Calif.
“Abby’s been one of my biggest rivals since we were children,” Daulat said. “I think it was fitting that she was the last person I’ll ever play in a high school tennis match.”
Coaches Frideric Prandecki and Tim Blenkiron didn’t even watch the state title match. Daulat said it was odd not to have coaches in her corner as usual, but understood they did not want to give off the appearance of rooting for either Daulat or Klein.
But that didn’t stop the coaches from knowing what their team had accomplished.
“I’m as proud of them, as proud as they come,” Blenkiron said.
Boulder City’s Tegan Pappas beat Cassandra Bueno of Desert Pines in the third-place match.
The Mustangs didn’t get all their accolades Saturday from only the girls singles division. Grace Nemec and Olivia Waysack took home the state title in girls doubles, with Peyton Barcel and Sara Blenkiron coming in third. Nathaniel van der Post finished third in boys singles, and Ahmed Nadeem and Peyton Sachs finished third in boys doubles.
Zach Haas of Truckee won the boys singles state title with a 7-5, 6-0 win over Western’s Rua Elmore. Van der Post beat Boulder City’s Andre Pappas for the bronze, 6-2, 6-3.
South Tahoe’s boys doubles team of Louis Marin and Mickey Sullivan won the state title with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Preston Jorgensen and Boen Huxford of Boulder City. Nadeem and Sachs beat Zach Larson and Noah Warren of Truckee 7-6, 2-6, 6-4.
In girls doubles, Nemec and Waysack beat Shelly Alvarado and Yazaret Arredondo of Desert Pines 6-1, 6-0 for their crown. Barcel and Blenkiron beat Lindsey Leavitt and Kinzi Robinson from Moapa Valley 6-3, 6-3.
Contact Justin Emerson at jemerson@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2944. Follow @J15Emerson on Twitter.