Mariners girls tennis on the verge of repeating as SCCAL champions

Aptos completed its regular season series sweep against Scotts Valley after a 5-2 win in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League action on Oct. 15.

In singles, Aptos freshman Kiana Safari won her match in straight sets (6-0, 6-1) against Aila Papadopoulous at the No. 1 spot. Fellow teammates senior Aviana Andrews and junior Isabella Calderon both won their matches in a three-set tiebreaker at Nos. 2 and 4, respectively.

In doubles, Aptos' tandem won over Natalia Calderon and Charlotte Long at No. 1 doubles, while Neci Hoeptner and Julia Blevins won at No. 3.

With the win, the Mariners improved to 7-0 in SCCAL play to stay atop the standings.

We just want to win the league and get better. Bond with each other, just get to know each other and become a family, said Andrews, who was named team captain this season.

The Mariners veteran said her biggest goal was to unify the team, which is focused on repeating as league champions.

This is a bigger, better and stronger Avi this year, Aptos coach Tammi Brown said. Her groundstrokes are nicer, her serve is better and more consistent, and she is team captain.

Aptos junior Coral Collins suffered her first loss of the season after withdrawing from her match against Erin Szymanski at No. 3 singles. Aracely Ritchie and Gia Arista fell for second place in doubles to Scotts Valleys Skylar Dufour and Montserrat Burgos-Saavedra.

It was the first time this season that the Mariners lost a game in the league, snapping a 42-game win streak.

Despite the loss, Collins is having a successful singles season. And let's not forget, she is still the defending SCCAL Tournament doubles champion.

However, she misses her partner Holly Hegna after she left for graduation. Aptos also lost the reigning singles champion in Tiana Smith, the dark horse going into last year's league tournament.

Yet it seems as if the Mariners continue to outpace the competition. The varsity team currently has 13 players on the roster, and the junior varsity team is 27 deep.

They're all just doing so great, and I feel like every year we're so blessed to have such a good team, Collins said.

Some teammates had to fill in for Collins, who had to sit out the beginning of the season after falling ill. It was a difficult start, but now she is getting back into the swing of things.

“I'm getting my feet under me, and everything's starting to come together again,” she said.

Aptos continues to mow through their league opponents and is poised to repeat as SCCAL champions. Brown said experienced players like Andrews and Collins know the ropes and what it takes to get to that point.

“I don't have to expect anything from them because they just do it naturally, it just happens,” Brown said. It makes my life easy and it makes it comfortable for the new people on the team.

During the impressive run, Safari improved to 6-0 in the league and was in contention for the top spot, which she challenged and earned before the start of the 2024 campaign.

I know some places and some areas, everyone is different. Some people might not like a freshman being No. 1, Safari said. I'm excited [my teammates have] all have been supportive. We all supported each other and it's a great team.

Safari admitted that there was some pressure to compete at No. 1 during her first season at Aptos because it is such a small town. Additionally, her brothers, Kourosh and Koosha, had very successful careers on the Mariners boys team.

Safari said the nice thing about having older siblings is that she gets free tennis lessons. But jokes aside, she said being able to practice with her brothers was inspiring for her.

Safari said her eldest brother, Kourosh, is only the stricter of the two because he is truly at the top of his game. As for Koosha, he can get quite detailed about how to solve a problem, rather than just pointing it out.

They push me to reach my full potential, which I really love, Safari said.

Brown threw her newest top player Safari into the lion's den from the start and she has been up for the challenge ever since.

I've known Kiana for a long time, and she's a gamer, Brown said. She doesn't seem a bit nervous about it.

Aptos (8-1) has three regular season games remaining, starting with Harbor on Oct. 17. The final week of the competition starts with a match in Santa Cruz on October 22, followed by the regular season and the home final against Soquel on October. 24. All three games are scheduled for 4 p.m.

The SCCAL tournament begins on November 5 with the first and second rounds at 9am, followed by the finals the next day at 3:30pm. All matches will take place at Imperial Courts in Aptos.

We are really looking forward to the season with [Safari]Brown said. If everything goes as you imagine, I think she would have a very good performance at the end-of-season tournament.