TJ’s girls’ tennis program expanded and improved throughout the 2026 season. photo by Stacey Branch
TJ Girls’ tennis program has grown in both number of athletes and post season success compared to previous years.
The 2026 Girls’ Tennis season at Thomas Jefferson high school has been defined by the growth of the program and the changes that have accompanied that growth. For how short the tennis season is, just nine weeks, the team made each day count and took every opportunity to strengthen their skills and the community of the team.
The biggest change made to the girls’ tennis program this year was the addition of a varsity two team, increasing the total number of teams to three. Stacey Branch returned as the head coach, overseeing the entire program, but she transitioned from coaching the varsity one (V1) team to coaching the brand new varsity two (V2) team. Jena DuPont, last year’s JV coach, took over as the V1 coach and oversaw the top eleven athletes, making up four doubles teams and three singles players. V2 contributes an additional eleven athletes, with the same seven lines, for a total of twenty two varsity girls tennis players, more than ever before at TJ. Taking over JV this season, Tiffany Sandusky joined the coaching staff, notably a TJ alumni. The JV team played exclusively doubles matches and brought the total number of players to over 40, a slight increase from previous years.
With over 40 athletes, the four tennis courts at TJ aren’t enough space to host all athletes for practice each day. Each team practiced from 3:45 to 5:15 daily with the exception of match days and the teams spread out to three different locations. JV practiced at the TJ courts, V2 held practices at Mamie D Eisenhower Park, and V1 practiced at Rosamond Park. JV had a total of twelve regular season matches, V2 had eight, and V1 had a total of ten.
V1 is the only team which has a schedule extending the regular season. V1 participated in 4A Regionals on April 29 and May 1, hosted by Kent Denver School. The team placed second overall out of the five other teams in the region (Kent Denver, Gateway, Adams City, Aurora Central, and Littleton). Ten of the eleven V1 athletes qualified for the 4A State Championship by placing second in regionals individually. The State Championship Tournament will be held in Pueblo, Colorado, on May 7th through 9th at Pueblo City Park.
The end of the regular season was celebrated with a banquet at Pindustry on April 27th. All three teams and their families attended and celebrated with games, prizes, awards, and gifts. The team had lots to celebrate after a long season defined by so much positive change and overall success. The season was extremely eventful and beneficial to each player and the program will undoubtedly continue to grow and improve as the changes made to the teams become more established. The entire program wishes the ten state qualifiers luck as they prepare to compete in Pueblo and all athletes should look forward to an exciting and competitive season next year.
