Windsor tennis has two state qualifiers for first time

GREELEY – One has carried high expectations all season. The other provided an unexpected boost to the team.

Windsor High School’s Amanda Ward and Sarah Engelhardt have made the Class 4A state tournament at their respective singles positions. It marks the first time the Wizards have sent multiple positions to state. Last year, Windsor sent its No. 2 doubles team to state.

Ward cruised through Region 4 at Centennial Park with a 3-0 record, beating Niwot’s Erin Mulshine 6-3, 6-2 on Friday.

She didn’t make state while playing No. 3 singles as a freshman. Ward then moved up to the No. 1 spot as a sophomore this year. She went undefeated in Tri-Valley Conference play, and her only losses this season were to 5A opponents.

“I’m so excited. I’ve never won anything like this before,” Ward said. “This whole tournament my confidence has been great. I just played relaxed.”

While there might have been the expectation of Ward making state, Engelhardt’s berth in the state tournament wasn’t even a consideration last year.

That’s because Engelhardt, a junior, is a foreign exchange student from Germany. She played basketball in the winter at Windsor. One day Chris Minear, an assistant basketball coach and head tennis coach, asked her what other sports she played.

She said tennis. Minear asked how good she was. “OK,” was her humble response. It turns out that was quite an understatement.

Engelhardt went 2-0 on the first day of regionals. She lost her final, but her second-place finish earns her a spot at next week’s state tournament in Pueblo.

“At the end of last year, you had no idea you were going to get a foreign exchange student to play tennis,” Minear said. “It was a really nice surprise.”

After helping Windsor qualify multiple positions for the first time, the next goal for Ward and Engelhardt will be to try and win a match at state for the first time in Windsor girls tennis history. The state tournament begins Thursday at Pueblo City Park. As a team, Windsor finished third in Region 4 with 51 points. Niwot was first with 94.

Engelhardt was beaming at the end of the day, knowing she gets to continue her season with her teammates before heading back to Germany once school is done.

“I’m so happy,” Engelhardt said. “Here there’s more school spirit and spirit inside the team. In Germany, we play club sports, and we’re not so close to each other like we are here. I’m really excited.”

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle at twitter.com/Kevin_Lytle and at facebook.com/KevinSLytle.