Scotts Valley High seniors Sofia Niklaus and Erin Szymanski got some redemption after falling short in last year’s Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Girls Tennis Championships tournament.
The top seeded Falcons duo beat No. 3 Coral Collins and Isabella Calderon of Aptos in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 to capture the 2024 doubles title at Imperial Courts Tennis Club in Aptos on Nov. 6.
“It feels really good, especially because of last year,” Niklaus said. “But this year we won, so I’m very excited. And it’s our last year. It’s nice to be able to go as far as we can go…it doesn’t feel like we should be done.”
Aptos High standout freshman Kiana Safari beat fellow teammate senior Aviana Andrews 6-0, 6-1 in the singles championship match.
“I played against amazing players. We’re all here for a reason, and we’re all here to win,” Safari said. “I’m really happy because everyone tried their best, and it’s just whoever plays the best they can.”
Safari, who earned the top seed, got past Harbor’s Addison Kimmel 6-0, 6-0 in the opening round without losing a game, followed by a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Santa Cruz’s Maddi McGrath in the semifinals Nov. 5.
Next up, the Central Coast Section Girls Tennis Championships individual tournament at Bay Club Courtside in Los Gatos.
Safari plays No. 2 Pavith Khara of Harker on Nov. 18, while Niklaus and Szymanski will take one top seed Corcoran Medeiros and Isabella Jacutin-Mariona of Los Altos the following day. Both matches are scheduled for noon.
“It’s a whole different world out there,” Szymanski said. “It’s a completely different level. I’m excited to play against some really hard teams. I’m excited to see how far we get. It’ll be a fun experience.”
Scotts Valley head coach Scott Goodrich said it was a great way to cap off an incredible season, and career, for both Niklaus and Szymanski.
“They just have a natural chemistry,” Goodrich said. “They just kind of know where each other is on the court. They don’t even have to talk too much and that’s the kind of stuff I think that really helps with doubles.”
It also helps to be good friends off the court. Niklaus and Szymanki played in singles action throughout the season, yet they prefer to play doubles in practice.
“It’s really easy for us to just play together, but it’s definitely different, especially having somebody at the net,” Niklaus said. “You can’t have any slip up in your shot otherwise they’re just gonna take it and get it away.”
The road to a championship wasn’t easy for both Szymanksi and Niklaus. They defeated Ayla Hymes and Lucy Federspiel of Soquel High in the opening round, followed by a victory over No. 4 Charlotte Long and Natalia Calderon of Aptos in the semifinals.
Isabella Calderon and Collins pulled off a minor upset in the semifinals after beating Santa Cruz’s tandem of Francesca Garces and Lou Ellis, who earned the No. 2 seed in the doubles draw.
“We were really stressing keeping the momentum up for us because if we let go at any point they can definitely come back because they’re both really good,” Niklaus said about Collins and Calderon. “Especially on Coral’s serve, it’s such a big serve. I was really struggling getting it back. We had to make sure to clamp down so that we wouldn’t let them get back in.”
Szymanski added there were also plenty of nerves going into the match.
“I was shaking. I was so scared,” she said. “Once we got through the first set, it kind of calmed down a little bit.”
It’ll be the second trip to the CCS tournament for Niklaus, who won the league doubles championship with former player Emma Dyc-O’Neal in 2022.
Niklaus recalls at that time the confidence level wasn’t the highest. Plus, she wasn’t familiar playing with Dyc-O’Neal, who was the No. 1 singles player that season.
“Not that we had animosity towards each other, but I feel like I didn’t really have as big of a part in the team,” Niklaus said. “Obviously it was really awesome, it meant a lot. But I really enjoyed playing with Erin. It feels really, really good to win this year, especially since it’s our last year.”
