No. 2 Catalina Foothills beat No. 1 Notre Dame Prep 5-0 Saturday afternoon at the Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale to win the 15th title in school history. The win was also the 15th for head coach Kristie Stevens.
As we reported before, Stevens accepted an administrative position at Ironwood Ridge which means this spring campaign was her last.
Stevens led the Falcons to 15 titles in 27 years with 17 finals appearances in the last 19 years alone. Her 15 titles are the most ever in Arizona for a “big school” program
The Falcons return all six seeded players including No. 1 Emily Flowers, No. 2 Annabelle Mulick, No. 3 Selma Fereres, No. 4 Sophie Silverman, No. 5 Stephanie Saunders and No. 6 Katie Nguyen.
The Falcons have also had 11 singles championships and 11 doubles championships under Stevens. Flowers beat Mulick to win the 2019 singles title.
In her own words:
“My 27 year career as the girls tennis coach at Catalina Foothills has spanned half of my lifetime. Coaching is a big part of my life and it will no doubt will be an adjustment come next Spring. There are so many to thank, but I would begin by thanking my all of my players. Each player touched my heart in some way. There is a bond that never leaves you, and the memories are an everlasting and priceless gift. I am forever changed by the connection I have made with my players and their families over the years. My success as a coach had a lot to do with a establishing a team with a commitment to each other and to our goal to be the best person, player and teammate.
I tried to be the person that the player needed me to be in any particular moment. Maybe I was the strategist or taught a skill. There were plenty of times I provided comfort, encouragement or a much needed reality check. While there were others when I was the willing target of their silly pranks. It didn’t matter, my support for my players was unconditional.
I would thank the parents for sharing their daughters with me and allowing me part of their development as student athletes. Thanks also goes Robb Salant for guiding me those first few years as a young coach. I grew to love Robb and his ways; we always had each other’s back. I would thank Franklin Lane and Jody Brase, two of the 10 athletic directors I served under. Franklin made a gesture one year that brought me to tears. It was the day after we lost in the semis that broke out streak of eight consecutive team titles. He drove over to the school I was working at to personally give me a hug and offer some comfort. Both Franklin and Jody always knew how devoted we were to our players/sport and supported us in victory and in defeat. And lastly, I would thank my husband Mark who is always by my side, even when it meant asking him keep the foul balls off the tennis courts to drilling holes in the tennis balls so I could create a special memento for my seniors.”
SOUTHERN ARIZONA GIRLS CHAMPIONS
Tucson (23)
1915: 5A (unknown)
1916: 5A (unknown)
1929: 5A (Nelda Taffe)
1936: 5A (Kathryn Young)
1937: 5A (Kathryn Young)
1938: 5A (Kathryn Young)
1945: 5A (Kathryn Young)
1946: 5A (Kathryn Young)
1947: 5A (Kathryn Young)
1948: 5A (Romaine Bower)
1949: 5A (Romaine Bower)
1950: 5A (Sally Henry)
1956: 5A (June Holcombe)
1959: 5A (Sue Clark)
1960: 5A (Sue Clark)
1961: 5A (Sue Clark)
1962: 5A (Sue Clark)
1964: 5A (Sue Clark)
1966: 5A (Sue Clark)
1967: 5A (Sue Clark)
1968: 5A (Sue Clark)
1971: 5A (Sue Clark)
1972: 5A (Sue Clark)
Catalina Foothills (15)
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)
2018: D-II (Kristie Stevens)
2019: D-II (Kristie Stevens)
Bisbee (10)
1921: 5A (unknown)
1959: 4A (Fred Corrin)
1961: 4A (Fred Corrin)
1964: 4A (Fred Corrin)
1965: 4A (Fred Corrin)
1966: 4A (Fred Corrin)
1967: 4A (Fred Corrin)
1968: 4A (Fred Corrin)
1969: 4A (Fred Corrin)
1970: 4A (Curtis McKale)
Salpointe (9)
1993: 5A (Jim Refkin)
1994: 5A (John Condes)
1996: 5A (John Condes)
2004: 5A (Perri Touche)
2006: 5A-I (Perri Touche)
2007: 5A-I (Perri Touche)
2009: 5A-I (Perri Touche)
2010: 5A-I (Perri Touche)
2011: 5A-I (Perri Touche)
Willcox (7)
1936: 3A (Dorothy Sawyer)
1955: 1A.2A (Cecil Miller)
1965: 1A/2A (Cecil Miller)
1965: 1A/2A (Doug Wagner)
1976: 1A/2A (Connie Truelove)
1992: 1A/2A (Anthony Prowell)
1993: 1A/2A (Bob Nelson)
Canyon del Oro (6)
1976: 4A (Ina Leffler)
1976: 4A (Ina Leffler)
1977: 4A (Bucky Hazon)
1978: 4A (Bucky Hazon)
1979: 4A (Bucky Hazon)
1980: 4A (Pam Reavis)
Pusch Ridge (6)
2007: 1A/2A (David Towne)
2008: 1A (David Towne)
2010: 1A (David Towne)
2017: D-III (Andy Fetsis)
2018: D-III (Andy Fetsis)
2019: D-III (Andy Fetsis)
Tombstone (6)
1970: 1A/2A (Bill Symms)
1981: 1A/2A (Charlie Smith)
1983: 1A/2A (Charlie Smith)
1984: 1A/2A (Charlie Smith)
1987: 1A/2A (Charlie Smith)
1991: 1A/2A (Charlie Smith)
The Gregory School (5)
1999: 1A (Dale Long)
2000: 1A (Dale Long)
2001: 1A (Faith Hisey)
2008: 1A (Mark Swenson)
2011: 1A (Mark Swenson)
Benson (4)
1942: 1A-2A (unknown)
1956: 1A/2A (Bill Marquardt)
1990: 1A/2A (Annetta Follmer)
2016: D-III (JT Merrill)
Sahuaro (4)
1973: 5A (Betty Johnson)
1975: 5A (Betty Johnson)
1978: 5A (Karen Oliver)
1979: 5A (George Yuhas)
Nogales (3)
1981: 4A (Jody Moreno)
1984: 4A (Ron Guglielmo)
1985: 4A (Ron Guglielmo)
Sabino (3)
1992: 4A (Chuck Leggett)
1993: 4A (Chuck Leggett)
1995: 4A (Eric Anderson)
Sahuarita (2)
1983: 3A (Pat Paterson)
1998: 3A (Dee Christofers)
Amphitheater (1)
1985: 5A (Glenn Steimling)
Flowing Wells (1)
1989: 4A (Paul Grissom)
Ironwood Ridge (1)
2012: D-II (William Little)
Rincon/UHS (1)
1994: 4A (Roland Kotwica)
Santa Rita (1)
1972: 4A (Maxine Tovrea)
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014 and he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017 and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is the Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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