Olivia Suazo and Kaydence Arrey had just two practices together.
They had never played together as a doubles pair, but they would do so at the district tournament and then at the state tennis tournament.
The decision by Española Valley Coach Nancy Suazo paid off, as the pair took fourth place on Thursday at the state tournament after winning the district title.
“It means a lot,” Olivia Suazo said. “I wish we could have gotten further. I wish we could have gotten more out of that. But I’m happy. I’m just happy to be playing with Kaydence.”
The transition was surprisingly smooth for both of them. They make jokes together to relax each other.
“We figured it out pretty quick,” Arrey said. “We understood each other.”
A pair of sophomores, Arrey and Suazo have grown close together over the last two years, though their tennis pedigrees are quite different.
Suazo, the coach’s daughter, has grown up around the sport, and has been the team’s top singles player since eighth grade.
Arrey, meanwhile, did not even start playing tennis until high school. But she caught on quickly. As a freshman, she went undefeated at the No. 6 spot. She moved up to No. 4 this year, and has a 12-3 record there this year, according to MaxPreps.
“She just brings home the dubs,” Nancy Suazo said. “Her love for the sport shows through, which results in her playing well on the court.”
While their coach did not want to think about the future, they hope to continue playing together.
A year ago, Olivia Suazo played with Jennifer Gallegos and finished in fourth place. This year, the team coach put Gallegos in the singles bracket for districts.
In this state tournament, Suazo and Arrey were the No. 3 seed. They won their first-round match 6-4, 6-1, then won 6-4, 6-3 over the Santa Fe Prep team, reaching the semifinals.
“Considering that they never played together, I was really impressed with them,” Nancy Suazo said. “It was an awesome pairing. Their vibes are very positive. I just want them to have a lot of fun out there, and get to know each other on the tennis court.”
In the semifinals, against the No. 2 seed (and the eventual champion), Suazo/Arrey fell down 5-0 early, but began to fight back before dropping the set 6-2. In the second set, they fell down 3-0, brought it back to 3-2, then lost the set 6-2 to fall to the third-place match.
For the third place match, they faced an unseeded opponent from Miyamura. Nerves took over early, as the Sundevil team dropped the first four games and lost the first set 6-1.
But from down 0-2 in the second set, they went up 3-2, then went up 5-3.
The Sundevils had made an adjustment against the unorthodox style of Miyamura, playing further back and working on their timing. They settled into a rhythm and began to play well.
“It helped figure out their game,” Olivia Suazo said. “They like to lob a lot. Weird stuff like that.”
But Miyamura battled back, and went up 6-5 in the set after fighting off two set points. What followed was an extended game, where Española battled and won three Miyamura match points, and ultimately won the game to force a tiebreak.
Then, Miyamura won the tiebreak 7-5, and celebrated their third-place win.
Though their bodies were “dead” after the two hard matches, the pair will have to turn right back around the next day. On Friday, Española has a No. 4 seed, and will play in the evening after a first-round bye to try to reach Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Boys Singles
Ian Gaytan represented Española Valley at the state tournament in boys singles, after he finished third at the district tournament.
Gaytan went into the state tournament unseeded, but won his first match 6-0, 7-5 over Belen’s Luke Austin. In the second round, he faced Los Alamos’ Ryan Sood, the No. 2 seed and an occasional training partner. Sood got the win over Gaytan 6-2, 6-2, and ultimately finished as the state runner-up.
Gaytan and the Española boys team are the No. 6 seed, and will face No. 11 Belen in the first round. Gaytan will again play Austin at the top flight. If the Sundevils win, they will face No. 3 Los Alamos, and Gaytan will face Sood for the sixth time this year, looking to finally get a win.