Sedona’s tennis team concluded its season on Friday, April 26, at the Division III State Championship. The playoffs were held at Paseo Racquet Center.

Senior Kai Zimmerman qualified for singles, while Andrea Agular and Jonathon Lamparter qualified in the doubles.

The Scorpions doubles team fell in round one to Sahuarita High School’s Tys Buckway and Jose Guevara.

“The score does not really reflect how well the boys played on Friday,” Sedona coach Phil Kovac said. “They were up against a better team having a phenomenal year, but they played well.”

During the tennis state playoffs, anybody can get upset and bounced out of the tourney.

“A few years back, a kid from Pusch Ridge Christian Academy was not even seeded and ended up winning the tournament,” Kovac said. “Anything can happen during single elimination tennis.”

In the singles opening round, Zimmerman defeated Yuma Catholic High School’s Jesus Zamudio to advance to the second round.

“The youngster was a good player, but Kai was just a little better that day,” Kovac said.

In the second round, Zimmerman fell to second ranked Joseph Merrill, Benson’s No. 1 player.

“Kai played well, he was matched up against someone who plays a lot of tennis and he had a solid performance,” Kovac said. “They had some nice rallies and Kai did not give much ground, but his opponent just had a better match.”

Merrill defeated Zimmerman [6-1] [6-1] and ended up advancing all the way to the semifinals.

“He had a solid year and has played four years of wonderful tennis for us,” Kovac said. “Heading into the tournament, Kai lost only three matches this year and all three were against extremely tough opponents.”

Kovac admires the focus and desire Zimmerman shows every time he steps onto the court.

“Kai is a very talented man with a lot of determination,” Kovac said. “He likes being a perfection in a lot of things but, regardless of who you are, tennis is one thing you cannot be a perfectionist in.”

In an area like Sedona, it can be difficult for tennis players to hone their craft with people their age.

“In a good-sized city, there are a lot of kids that play tennis, which can also make the game more fun fore younger players,” Kovac said. “Kai often plays against adults instead of engaging in matches against those near his age.”

Players also must worry about Sedona’s high altitude while practicing.

“Tennis is not an easy sport for these boys to strike the ball as well as they do,” Kovac said. “Playing in this altitude with not much competition is challenging, but they pulled through.”

The Scorpions regular season ended on April 16, after the boy’s team defeated the Page Sand Devils 6-3.

“We capped off our year with our end-of-season banquet with the boys’ and girls’ teams and both sides enjoyed themselves,” Kovac said. “All of the boys were seniors, so we are going to have a brand new tennis team next season.”

Sedona’s girl’s team finished 4-8, good for fifth in the Division III Section VI.

“I am hoping that four girls will return next year, but you never know until the season starts,” Kovac said. “We lost a couple of girls from last season but the competition was a little stronger this season.”

Though the boys were undermanned, they still pushed through for a successful season.

“Looking back, I would say the boys did an excellent job this season, despite us only having four on the roster,” Kovac said. “We had a pretty good record and they showed up for every match and gave everything they had.”

While it has not been a week since the Scorpions’ season concluded, Kovac is already focused on next season.

“I look forward to building a new boy’s team and strengthening  the girls’ team next season,” Kovac said.