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Four Cheyenne Mountain High School tennis players are heading to the state semifinals with a shot at their third team state title in four years.
Alyssa Sadri, Rose Katen, Sophie Zhou and Saffron Heroldt have built their success on a foundation of friendship that stretches back to before high school for three of the four.
"We're definitely really close. I mean we've had all this time together to get to know each other and we played with each other outside of season as well so the combination of all those things have really made us a tight group," said Sadri.
Heroldt joined the group her freshman year and was welcomed immediately into a bond forged through grueling training sessions.
"As soon as I came, I was welcome(d) immediately. And we trained like we had the worst, well it wasn't really that bad, but we would train like hours and hours every week and go through the absolute worst fitness drills of my entire life. The triangle of death, if anyone remembers, that was awful. So, it made us really, really close, and they are like my favorite people ever," said Heroldt.
That closeness extends beyond the court, with ice cream runs and team outings being a regular part of their routine.
"I mean, there's regular ice cream runs after every practice," said Heroldt.
"We do a lot of team bonding activities, and we like to go out to eat together a lot," added Katen.
But, the road to that tight bond wasn't without its challenges. The players recalled the stress of freshman year tryouts, when teammates suddenly became competitors.
"Tryouts was like the main issue," said Zhou.
"We were used to practicing together all the time, but all of a sudden, instead of working together, we were going against each other, and it was totally new for all of us. We were competing for the same spot. It was very stressful," said Katen.
Pushing through that pressure paid off. The group has now won two state titles in three years, and all four players won their individual regional brackets this week. Now, with the state semifinals ahead, they have their sights set on one more.
"It'd be nice because it'd be full circle as we won it our freshman year, so then we'd complete the loop," said Sadri.
"I think it'd be really cool to get three. I think our team is really strong this year. so hopefully we get it," chimed in Zhou.
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