Long after the bottom six lines of No. 8 Fairview girls tennis’ first-round dual of the Class 5A state team tournament had finished, senior Knight Stella Laird was still engaged in a tight battle with ninth-seeded ThunderRidge’s Sibel Shehryar.

The Knights’ ability to advance all came down to her, as the other ladies had split their matches 3-3. Her teammates cheered her on through every point in the third set, giving Laird just the fuel she needed to wrap the dual up with a bow. Her 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 victory pushed Fairview into the second round to face No. 1 Ralston Valley, which swept No. 16 Arapahoe in its tournament debut.

“I was just really zoned in. I knew a few people have won, people have lost, but I wasn’t sure what was going on,” Laird said after the fact. “I knew it might have been a tiebreaker, so I was just putting my all in the third set, just completely playing for my team.

“Something I’ve always said is don’t look at the courts next to you, just focus on your own game. I feel like that’s really helped, just focusing on my own ball, making sure I’m playing my best game and trusting that my team is going to do their best as well.”

That type of calm, steady gameplay has come to define her swan song as well as her style of leadership.

She improved to 17-1 on the season with her victory over Shehryar, and her head coach, Tanya Cumalat, believes she can rise all the way to the top during the individual state tournament in a couple of weeks.

Laird credited her improvement from last season to an increase in tournament play and has seen the biggest jump in her serve, her speed, her explosiveness and her attacking shots. Clearly, it’s been working well for her.Still, Shehryar certainly gave her a run for her money in the second set before she was able to shut it down once and for all.

“Coming off the first set, I was feeling pretty good, but then she definitely put up a really good fight,” Laird explained. “She stopped missing. She started hitting some really, really good shots. She was just being really consistent, hitting lots of really good shots and making me run.”

Laird has led a Fairview squad that features girls from all school classes, with freshmen and sophomores sprinkled in among the other familiar junior and senior faces. The disparity in age hasn’t seemed to faze the Knights much. They entered the postseason with an 8-1 dual record and have their eyes trained firmly on the 1 singles prize for Laird.

Cumalat has been grateful for the stability that Laird has provided at the top of the lineup. She knew she could rely on her to take it home for the Knights.

“The Stella from this year, even compared to last May, is just so mature. She’s really been out here this season very calm and just determined at her matches,” Cumalat said. “Stella’s definitely an introvert and she’s a very quiet leader, but she’s been able to just display great examples for the team.

“There’s always a moment that things can turn around on a dime in sports, but I had faith in her and I knew she’s been there before and she knows how to dig deep.”

Full results

• 1 singles: Stella Laird (Fairview) def. Sibel Shehryar (TR) 6-1, 4-6, 6-1

• 2 singles: Ekaterina Payne (TR) def. Kristina Harms (Fairview) 6-1, 6-3

• 3 singles: Julia Gao (Fairview) def. Jenna Schnackenberg (TR) 6-3, 6-2

• 1 doubles: Mila Burkart/Joana Volkamer-Pastor (Fairview) def. Abby Herbal/Hayley Herbal (TR) 6-4, 6-2

• 2 doubles: Bella Pope/Abby Jiang (Fairview) def. Tatum Brimhall/Charlotte Dunford (TR) 6-1, 6-4

• 3 doubles: Presley Bills/Sophia Grogan (TR) def. Madeleine Grandsaert/Madeleine Sieper (Fairview) 6-2, 6-2

• 4 doubles: Kyler Phelan/Clara Reese (TR) def. Hanbei Bao/Sylvie Jones (Fairview) 0-6, 6-3, 6-3