If you know anything about Sahuaro’s Girls’ Tennis team, you would know it’s packed with seniors, taking up roughly 85% of the team’s roster. The eleven seniors on the main roster don’t even account for their amazing manager, who runs the team and their socials. On April 17th, 2025, our amazing girls went up against Canyon Del Oro at home for not only their last game of the season but to celebrate the 2025 seniors at their senior night.
First up, Haylee Au, who ranks #1 in doubles and #2 in singles, has been on the tennis team since her sophomore year but has been playing tennis on and off for a long time. Haylee was born and raised in Tucson, but she will move to Tempe after graduation to attend Arizona State University. When she arrives, Haylee will major in biology to become an orthodontist, while continuing to play tennis at ASU. At Sahuaro, Haylee is in Cougar Link Crew, National Honors Society, Book Club, and StuCo as the Student Body President. Haylee’s favorite memory from tennis has been playing with her best friend Jill and playing doubles with her doubles partner, Carly.
Jillian Stachowski grew up in Tucson and has been on our tennis team since her sophomore year. Jill’s grades have always been of the utmost importance to her, always getting straight A’s, but she had a really bad sophomore year. She will go off to Utah State University to become a pilot. Here at Sahuaro, Jill is in National Honors Society, Cougar Link Crew, and is the President of Book Club. She has been playing tennis a lot longer than her high school career and joined to get better at the sport. Jill will miss being in tennis here, and her favorite memory from the seasons she’s had here was being able to practice with the Boys’ Tennis team.
Carly Coolidge has been on the team since her freshman year and joined because her mom played when she was in high school. She grew up in Tucson and plans to go to the University of Arizona to study something in the medical field, though she is not sure of what yet. School and sports have always been important to Carly. “I also wanted to be a good role model for my classmates and younger students. And yes, it is still important to me now. I kind of prioritize that over anything.”
Vaida Knepp has been on the tennis team for all 4 years of high school and was born and raised right here in Tucson, though she lived in San Diego for two years. She has always been a great student and is very involved in the Sahuaro community. Vaida is on the swim team, girls’ tennis, marching band, concert band, book club, Santa Cruz Winter Guard, and Cougar Link Crew. She plans to go to Northern Arizona University to major in Environmental Studies. Vaida’s favorite memories from tennis were “hanging with each other after games, and the support we have for each other while we play against other schools.”
Vy Ngo moved to Tucson when he was 2 and has been on the tennis team for only her senior year. Her grades have always been her #1 priority, and she plans to study Social Work at the University of Arizona. Vy doesn’t plan on playing tennis in college but was considering badminton. She is in Book Club, tennis, and guitar; outside of school, she likes watching anime and playing video games.
Tatum Crawford grew up in Yuma, Arizona, and moved to Tucson right before high school. As a kid, Tatum was great at English and science and was in a GAP program, which is equivalent to the GATE program, up in Yuma, believing that academics are very important. Because of that, Tatum is in Book Club, tennis, and our very own, The Paper Cut. After high school, Tatum plans to attend NAU to study in the nursing field. This was her first year in tennis, and she joined because it looked fun.
Mia Payette grew up in Tucson and had great grades that kept her at the top of her class. She joined the tennis team last year as the manager but decided to play this year. Mia’s grades are still at the top of her priority list, and she gets the most out of her time in the classroom. Mia is very involved in Sahuaro, mainly the music program. She is in marching band, concert band, jazz band, winter drumline, Cougar Link Crew, tennis, Book Club, and The Paper Cut. Mia will go on to the University of Arizona to study journalism.
Sirena Flowers grew up in Tucson and has been on the tennis team since the beginning of this season. She has always been ahead in her classes, even when she was young, and plans to go to Grand Canyon University to study psychology and law. Sirena is in the Black Student Union, Cougar Link Crew, and tennis. Her favorite memory from her time on the team is when she won her first doubles match.
Rebecca Martinez was mainly raised in Tucson, though she lived for a few years in both Germany and El Paso because her dad was stationed there in the Army. This is Rebecca’s first year on the tennis team, and she is the team manager. Rebecca has a very good academic track record. She plans to go to NAU to major in Chemistry with an emphasis in Criminology & Forensics. Right now, she is in Book Club, tennis, and orchestra. Rebecca’s favorite tennis memory is when “Jill and Izzy’s doubles match went to the tiebreaker, and it was so neck and neck, they had to play in a pitch black court, and they still won!”
Coach Bradley said, “We had 10 amazing Senior players on the team this year. They all varied in abilities, and all brought great things to our team. I will be forever grateful for their leadership and team spirit. I also want to recognize our two amazing Senior Managers, Rebecca and Aria, who I would not have been able to get through this season without their help. These Seniors will always hold a special place in my heart as my first team of seniors that I coached. I wish them all the best in their future!”
We wish the seniors of our Girls Tennis team the best in whatever they pursue. Whatever they do in the future will be great, and hope that they never forget about the tennis team.
