Aptos freshman Kiana Safari solidified her spot as the league’s top player following a dominant performance at this week’s Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Girls Tennis Championships tournament in Aptos.
The young Mariners standout beat fellow teammate senior Aviana Andrews 6-0, 6-1 to claim the 2024 singles title at Imperial Courts Tennis Club on Wednesday afternoon.
“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 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 on Tuesday morning.
“[Safari’s] only a freshman. She’s got a long road still ahead of her, in a good way,” Aptos head coach Tammi Brown said. “Aptos, we had a really good run this year. We had four of the six finalists today. I couldn’t be prouder of the team and the way the girls performed.”
Scotts Valley High seniors Sofia Niklaus and Erin Szymanski got some redemption in their doubles championship match after falling short in last year’s tournament.
The top seeded Falcons duo beat No. 3 Coral Collins and Isabella Calderon of Aptos in straight sets 6-3, 6-1.
“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.”
Collins and Calderon 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.
Andrews advanced into the singles final following victories over San Lorenzo Valley’s Kaitlin Houston in the first round and Scotts Valley junior Aila Papadopoulos, the No. 2 seed, in the semifinals.
Papadopoulos had to retire due to a sore shoulder after losing the first set, which set up an all-Mariner championship match.
Wednesday afternoon ended with Safari capturing her first SCCAL singles title in just her first season with the Mariners.
“Sometimes it’s always how you’re playing one day,” Safari said. “[Andrews] can easily beat me one day, and I can beat her one day. It just goes back and forth. I feel like just today was a day I could get my balls back into play right.”
Safari said it was tough having to beat Andrews because she’s used to rooting for her teammate to win instead of suffering defeat.
“But I want to win, too,” Safari said. “It’s kind of enjoyable because at the end even if your teammate wins, you’re happy for them. And even when you win, you’re happy, too. So it’s also kind of a win-win situation.”
Going into the 2024 fall campaign, Safari earned to compete at the No. 1 spot for the Mariners. She admitted at the time there was some pressure, but it didn’t compare to how she felt during this week’s league championships.
“It’s even a little more [pressure] because everyone wants to go to CCS, that’s everyone’s goal. I felt like everyone’s coming back stronger, no matter what,” Safari said.
Safari went undefeated with a 7-0 record in SCCAL play and finished with a 8-1 overall record, suffering her lone loss to Stevenson’s Tereza Kostkova.
This season has been both fun and interesting for Safari, who mentioned that competing in USTA tournaments feels a bit stale year after year.
“It’s usually in the same spot,” she said. “But I’ve never been to any of these high schools before for any away matches. So it was really interesting to see different courts, just everyone’s teammates supporting them. It was just a great environment.”
The next stop is the Central Coast Section Girls Tennis Championships individual tournament at Bay Club Courtside in Los Gatos. Safari will compete in the singles tournament starting Nov. 18 at noon.
“This is one pond, that’s like an ocean over on that side,” Brown said. “It’ll be good practice for her and good competition.”
Niklaus and Szymanski advanced to the CCS doubles playoffs set to begin Nov. 19 at noon also at Bay Club Courtside in Los Gatos.
“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.”
Aptos, which won the regular season SCCAL title with a perfect 10-0 record, will also compete as a team starting with first round play Nov. 11.
Safari said she’s excited to face new competition, including the older players because she wants to see how she stacks up against them.
“I expect to see amazing players, just like here. Even better than here because they won their own league,” Safari said. “I’m just gonna try my best. Whatever happens, happens, and I’m proud, however I do.”
