Nearly half of the Steamboat Springs girls tennis roster is made up of senior talent. 

Six of the team’s 13 athletes, including one player-manager, picked up the racket one final time Friday for a match on the team’s home courts at the Steamboat Tennis and Pickleball Center.

Head coach Jason Scicchitano said his group of seniors have become incredible leaders this season and their attitudes on and off the court are infectious for the other girls. 

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“There are six of them so there is a lot of leadership on the team right now, which is great,” he said. “They are really excited about the season and we had a rough start losing the previous coach, Bill (Conway), a week before the season started. I think, considering that, it has been awesome having everyone on board and the seniors are taking off.” 

That group of six includes player-manager Grace Brice, captains Kelsey Norland and Evan Quinn, as well as Paloma Edinburg, Jacey Larock and Amanda Dietrich. 

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Entering Friday’s match against Vail Christian, Dietrich didn’t want to think too much about it being her last time competing in Steamboat. 

“It was definitely emotional,” Dietrich said. “I really wanted to end on a bang and go all out. I think I played really well today so ending on a high note was good. This place is going to be missed. It has been my home for the last four years, and now I am never going to play here again so that is a lot to take in.” 

Dietrich and her partner, sophomore Leslie Jimenez, lost to Vail 6-4, 6-2, Friday but maintained positive throughout. Dietrich explained the team is focused on ending the year on a high note, and part of that is supporting each other and keeping a good mindset.

Sophomores Lucia Del Haya at No. 1 singles and Dylan Quinn at No. 3 singles were the lone Sailors to come out victorious Friday as Steamboat fell 5-2. 

Despite the loss, Scicchitano was very happy with how the team performed. He said the girls did not give up under pressure or give away critical points. He hopes they maintain their aggressive style of play moving forward with just two more matches ahead of the regional tournament at the start of May. 

“The goal today was to swing at the ball and be fearless,” he said. “It is OK to miss as long as you are going for it, but it’s not OK to miss if you’re not going for it. I feel like today they showed a lot of aggression and fearlessness that we had talked about.”

Vail Christian 5, Steamboat Springs 2
No. 1 singles — Lucia Del Haya, SS, def. Vail Christian, 6-3, 7-5.
No. 2 singles — Vail Christian def. ​​Lyla Baker, SS, 7-5, 7-5.
No. 3 singles — Dylan Quinn, SS, def. Vail Christian, 6-4, 2-6, 10-8.
No. 1 doubles — Vail Christian def. Evan Quinn and Kelsey Norland, SS, 6-4, 6-4.
No. 2 doubles — Vail Christian def. Amanda Dietrich and Leslie Jimenez, SS, 6-4, 6-2. 
No. 3 doubles — Vail Christian def. Emily Lopez and Taylor Rockford, SS, 6-1, 6-1. No. 4 doubles — Vail Christian def. Vanessa Dorr and Jacey Larock, SS, 6-3, 7-5.