DENVER >> Fairview senior Stella Laird enjoyed a taste of home in one of the final matches of her high school career.

In a playback at the Class 5A individual state tennis tournament Friday at Denver Tennis Park, Laird battled it out with Boulder junior Tessa Botha for a spot in Saturday’s No. 1 singles third-place match, eventually taking down her friend from across town with a 6-2, 6-1 score.

Now, she’ll return for her prep swan song against Fossil Ridge’s Irene Cobos. Laird played as far as the semifinals in the winner’s bracket but fell to the defending state champion, Valor Christian’s Caroline Daugherty, in a 6-1, 6-1 showing earlier Friday.

“I started with Caroline this morning and I was feeling my shots, so my whole goal was just to keep my rhythm from this morning,” Laird explained after her afternoon playback. “Tessa is a good player. It definitely wasn’t easy, because I went through my ups and downs with this match. I started out pretty good, but then I just started missing a bunch and she was really consistent. She didn’t let up at all. It just took a lot of mental calmness to stay stable and get through it.”

Botha, for her part, was thrilled to have a chance at the third-place match. She said that although she’s never beaten Laird whenever they’ve played over the past three years, she’s consistently seen herself improve through each and every point.

“It’s really exciting. I really love playing Stella,” Botha said. “She’s such a great player. I feel like I had a lot of fun this weekend. I like that I’ve been staying positive, and even when I’m down I still give myself good advice and positive thoughts and take deep breaths to stay loose. It gives me, I guess, an experience playing tougher players and kind of having more pressure on me.”

Botha felt the sting of Daugherty’s gameplay in the first round, losing 6-0, 6-0, but bounced back in her first playback to defeat Regis Jesuit’s Madeline Dickey in a 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 marathon. Laird defeated Columbine’s Juliette Jaycox (6-1, 6-4) and Cherry Creek’s Madeline Hochstadt (6-4, 6-2) before her meeting with Daugherty.

Laird is hoping she can carry the momentum she built up Friday toward a proverbial bronze medal Saturday.

“State is just insane. Everyone here deserves it. Everyone here is an amazing player, so every single point counts, even in the first rounds. It’s always a tough match. It’s never an easy win,” she said. “I think tomorrow is just keeping my head, playing my game, not letting anything bother me, powering through and focusing on my shots. I’ve never played (Cobos) before, so it’ll just be an exciting match to see how she plays.”

Going for the gold

While Laird was the lone 5A representative from the BoCoPreps area to make semifinals, she was far from the only overall player to do so. Niwot’s Saha Kolli will go to war with Kent Denver’s Lila Moldenhauer for the 1 singles crown in Class 4A down in Pueblo.

The local scene for possible 3A state titles is absolutely stacked.

Playing in Colorado Springs, Peak to Peak’s Sydney Lewis (2 singles) will take on Vail Christian’s Alexa Blanch; Prospect Ridge Academy’s Maya Anderson (3 singles) will play Vail Christian’s Heidi Iverson; and Peak to Peak’s Sydney Parkinson/Molly Kolachov (1 doubles) will go to war with Colorado Academy’s Anna Johnson/Storm Bearley.

Also, Peak to Peak’s El Allen-Bonney/Lhadze Olsen (2 doubles) will face off with Vail Christian’s Autumn Woods/Camden Allen, and Prospect Ridge Academy’s Amelia Waggoner/Natalie Rooks (3 doubles) will take on Peak to Peak’s Jolie Sasseville/Abby Fitzgerald.