When Sedona Red Rock High School’s girls tennis team defeated BASIS Flagstaff on April 5, the Scorpions assumed control of the Division III, Section VI race. A win in the rematch on Thursday, April 8, would all but secure a Section championship. That’s exactly what Sedona got.
While it was a road match at the Yeti’s home courts at Continental Country Club, the Scorpions doubled up their BASIS rivals, winning 6-3, just like they did in the first match.
Winning the doubles matches 2-1, Sedona found itself more in control throughout the rematch than the home match three days prior. While the No. 1 SRRHS team of sophomores Rina Sato and Jillian Grondin fell to their Yeti counterparts, Sedona’s depth prevailed with the No. 2 team of senior Sofia Zimmerman and sophomore Natlalie Arizmendi, who won 8-5, and the No. 3 team of senior Izzy Constante and sophomore Kaitlyn Otterlee, who won 9-7.
The singles matches played out similarly. BASIS sophomores and top two singles players Aeliani Ricci and Jenna Crone — who also make up the Yeti’s No. 1 doubles team — were both victorious in their singles matches, defeating Zimmerman and Sato. But as it did in doubles, Sedona’s singles depth carried the day.
Grondin — the Scorpions No. 3 singles player — won in straight sets [6-4, 6-4] as did Constante [6-3, 6-1] and Joseline Arizmendi [6-1, 6-0], Sedona’s No. 5 and 6 singles players. Arizmendi [Natalie] did drop her first set [4-6] but evened the match in the second [6-3] and won the third and decisive set [10-6] to secure the win.
The win over BASIS moved Sedona to 7-0 on the season. The next closest team to the Scorpions in the Section standings is still the Yeti, who are 5-2. Anthem Prep is 4-2. While SRRHS doesn’t quite have the Section title locked up, with only three matches remaining it’s very close.
The next match for the Scorpions was a road match against Page on Tuesday, April 13. They were again victorious, downing the Sand Devils 6-3. Sedona will be on the road on Thursday, April 15 with a 3 p.m. against Kingman. The Scorpions will conclude their regular season on Tuesday, April 20, with a 2 p.m. match at Anthem Prep.
If Sedona wins in Kingman — who the Scorpions defeated 9-0 in an early-season matchup — the outright Section title will be secure before the season finale with the Eagles
While all of Sedona’s remaining regular season matches are on the road, SRRHS could be home for two matches in the playoffs. The top eight seeds will be home for the first round of the state tournament on Tuesday, April 27. The top four remaining seeds will be home again for the quarterfinals the following week on Tuesday, May 4.
The Scorpions are currently seeded No. 2, in Division III, behind only Scottsdale Prep. So, if they can hold or improve upon that spot and then win in the first round, they’ll have two home playoff matches before the semifinals and finals, which would be held at the Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale on Friday, May 7, and Saturday, May 8.
