Tucson Catalina Foothills wrapped up another perfect regular season Thursday night with a 7-1 win at rival Division II power Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge. At 14-0 overall and 8-0 in Section V, the Falcons have only given up 10 points all year but only three since March 9.

Ironwood Ridge standout Kailyn Teel outlasted Morgan Chakraborty in the third match (6-4, 2-6, 11-9) to score a point for the Nighthawks but the top match between Kirtana Bhat and Kelsey Brown was called due to darkness.

Brown took the first set 6-3 and Bhat won the second 6-4 but both agreed to end the match in the super tiebreaker with Brown up 4-3 because neither one could see the ball.

Catalina Foothills senior Bhat is the reigning state singles champion in Division II and Brown won last year's doubles championship along with Allie Knox. Bhat won back-to-back doubles championships with her sister Rachana in 2012 and 2013.

"We are long on seniors," explained Ironwood Ridge coach Susan Williams. "We have five seniors and Kelsey and Allie are going to go for another championship. We also have some great younger players like Kailyn and Patricia (Bernabe). Our lineup for state is still in flux."

The seeding meeting for Division I and II will be held this Saturday at the AIA Board Room so power teams such as Ironwood Ridge and Catalina Foothills will know how many additional entries they will be awarded based on availability.

As of today, Catalina Foothills is ranked second and Ironwood Ridge is ranked third. Phoenix Arcadia is the top-ranked team and their undefeated record includes an incredible 9-0 sweep of fourth-ranked Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep on Monday.

The Titans have given up only two points all year.

"This is going to be a very competitive year," said Catalina Foothills coach Kristie Stevens. "Even though the scores don't reflect it, we played some close matches. Acadia's win over Notre Dame is also interesting but we have no way to measure ourselves with Phoenix teams until the playoffs."

Stevens hopes to include some Phoenix powers on her schedule next year with the new alignment. With 13 state championships since 2000, Stevens is one of the most accomplished tennis coaches in the state.

Ironwood Ridge defeated Catalina Foothills to win the state title in 2012. Kelsey's cousin Sara Brown was the deciding factor in the 5-4 victory.

Ironwood Ridge still has two more regular season matches.

 

 

Catalina Foothills 7, Ironwood Ridge 1

 

Singles

Kirtana Bhat vs. Kelsey Brown (darkness)

(CF) Abby Watson d. Allie Knox 6-0, 6-1

(IR) Kailyn Teel d. Morgan Chakraborty 6-4, 2-6, 11-9

(CF) Katie Watson d. Patricia Bernabe 6-1, 6-1

(CF) Halle Zadro d. Amanda Betten 6-1, 6-1

(CF) Cody Hutchison d. Calli Bagshaw 6-4, 3-6, 10-4

 

Doubles

(CF) Bhat/A. Watson d. Brown/Knox 8-0

(CF) Chakraborty/K. Watson d. Teel/Bernabe 8-5

(CF) Zadro/Mari Bangoura d. Betten/Bagshaw  8-6

 

Catalina Foothills State Championships

2000: 4A (Kristie Stevens)

2001: 4A (Kristie Stevens)

2002: 4A (Kristie Stevens)

2003: 4A (Kristie Stevens)

2004: 4A (Kristie Stevens)

2005: 4A (Kristie Stevens)

2006: 4A-I (Kristie Stevens)

2007: 4A-I (Kristie Stevens)

2009: 4A-I (Kristie Stevens)

2010: 4A-I (Kristie Stevens)

2011: 4A-I (Kristie Stevens)

2013: D-II (Kristie Stevens)

2014: D-II (Kristie Stevens)