Central freshman Hailey Mathis-Breitkopf dominating on tennis court

No Lady Indian was more dominant than No. 2 singles player Hailey Mathis-Breitkopf, who dropped just three combined games across the five matches she won. Those efforts earned the freshman Prep Athlete of the Week honors from WyoSports’ Cheyenne staff.

“She doesn’t just want to win,” first-year Central coach Ron Bronson said. “She wants to break her opponent down. She plays well beyond her age. She’s really smart tactically and physically, and doesn’t seem to get rattled by a whole lot.”

Until a few years ago, Mathis-Breitkopf played tennis a few times a year with her family. She had fun playing the sport, but wasn’t passionate about it.

That changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mathis-Breitkopf and her father frequented the court in Jaycee Park in order to remain active and stave off boredom amid all of the shutdowns and uncertainty that accompanied the novel coronavirus. The more Mathis-Breitkopf played, the better she got and the more she fell for the sport.

“I played a ton of sports growing up, and I was never great at any of them,” she said. “I started getting pretty good at tennis, so I took lessons and started playing competitively. In October, I started playing indoors, and I was just playing as much as I could.”

Mathis-Breitkopf started working with former Central standout Emily Needham, who is currently playing for the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. Needham closed her Central career with a pair of No. 1 singles state titles after winning the No. 2 singles crown as a sophomore. She has helped Mathis-Breitkopf make up for lost time on the court.

“She helped me not only with my form, but the mental part of tennis, as well,” Mathis-Breitkopf said. “She was there for my first tournament matches, and she was the first person I texted after I won regionals.

“I really credit her for helping me get to where I am, because she helped me not only with playing the sport, but also getting involved in the sport. I look at her as a vision of who I want to be.”

Bronson raves about Mathis-Breitkopf’s mental fortitude. Although she has lost just 14 games this fall, she has battled back from the brink of several game losses.

“She’s had a lot of (advantage) points, and she’s had fans from other teams saying things during her matches,” the coach said. “Those are things you don’t deal with at junior tournaments. High school tennis can be a little cutthroat that way.

“She’s able to lock in and focus because she has the desire to prove that she’s better than you. She doesn’t have the self-doubt a lot of people her age do. She knows she belongs at that No. 2 singles spot, and she’s out to prove it.”

Some high school tennis players are so dominant that they use their time on the court with overmatched players to work on skills they need to hone. That live practice approach often leads to them losing games they shouldn’t before pulling out match wins. Mathis-Breitkopf has had no trouble with that.

“She picks something she’s not as good at or as comfortable with and works on it, but she still does what she does,” Bronson said. “She’ll come off the court and say, ‘I hit nothing but topspin shots that whole match,’ or ‘I really worked on coming to the net.’

“She’s smart enough to work on those things and still do it really efficiently.”

Mathis-Breitkopf knows she can’t afford to try to polish skills at this point in the season.

“I’m just trying to finish things out, because these matches are the most important I’ll play this year, and I can’t afford to lose any of them,” she said.

Mathis-Breitkopf’s toughest matches this season have come during Central’s practices. Junior No. 1 singles player Ashli Smedley placed third at last year’s state tournament, and has dropped just two matches this fall.

“I love practicing with her because it’s really beneficial,” Mathis-Breitkopf said. “I learn a lot. She’s really helped me with some things, because she’s a really good person. My ankle hurt last week, and she helped me with some exercises to take care of it.

“My wrist hurt one week, and she gave me a wrist brace. She’s so supportive of her team and a great team leader. I’m so happy she’s on my team. She’s a great player, but she’s also a great friend.”

Mathis-Breitkopf also is doing a good job of leading for the Indians, Bronson said.

“She brings the team up because of how she plays,” he said. “She sets the tone for the rest of the team by how she plays. I’ve never seen a No. 2 team do that.”

Others recognized for their efforts include:

n Keagan Bartlett, football, Cheyenne Central: The senior quarterback completed 10 of 15 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown to help the Indians to a 41-28 win at No. 3-ranked Thunder Basin. He also rushed for 93 yards and four touchdowns.

n Janaeh Brown, girls swimming, Cheyenne South: The junior won the 200-yard freestyle (2 minutes, 27.35 seconds) and 500 (6:47.70) during the Friday portion of the Newcastle Duals. She also touched the wall first in the 50 free (27.75 seconds) and the 100 butterfly (1:09.98) during the Saturday portion.

n Central girls tennis: No. 1 singles player Ashli Smedley and the No. 2 doubles team of Lucia Shoemaker and Crimson Flowers all went 5-0 on the week and won South Regional titles.

The No. 1 doubles tandems of Quincy Dereemer and Genesis Tyler and the No. 3 team of Morgan Kirkbride and Gracie Osterland both went 4-1 on the week, with their only loss coming in the regional final.

n Colin Crecelius, boys tennis, Cheyenne East: The freshman No. 1 singles player went 4-1 on the week, winning in duals with Green River and Rock Springs before going 2-1 and placing second at the South Regional.

n Izzy DeLay, girls swimming, Central: The junior won the 50-yard freestyle (25.56 seconds) and 100 backstroke (1 minute, 6.68 seconds) during a dual with Cheyenne East.

n Emma Dray and Zoey Woods, girls tennis, East: The Lady Thunderbirds’ No. 2 doubles team went 5-1 on the week. Its lone loss came in the semifinals of the South Regional. However, the tandem rebounded from that defeat by winning two matches and capturing third place.

n Tehya Gallegos, Brooke Hansen and Emma Norris, volleyball, Burns: Gallegos dished out 61 assists and posted 22 digs to help the Lady Broncs to a sweep at Lusk on Friday and a four-set win over visiting Pine Bluffs on Saturday.

Hansen tallied 22 kills and 19 digs in those wins.

Norris notched 26 kills and 23 digs in those matches.

n Cam Hayes, Dom Kaszas and Garet Schlabs, football, East: Hayes, a junior, completed 19 of 21 passes for 341 yards and six touchdowns during the No. 1-ranked Thunderbirds’ 63-7 win over Laramie.

Kaszas, a senior, caught four passes for 99 yards and three touchdowns. He also took his only carry of the game seven yards for a touchdown.

Schlabs, a senior, grabbed 10 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns.

n Jamie Jones, girls tennis, Cheyenne South: The senior went 3-1 and placed third in No. 2 singles at the South Regional.

n Stu Lerwick and Abe Serrano, football, Pine Bluffs: Lerwick passed for 182 yards and three touchdowns during the Hornets’ win at Wright. He also rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown.

Serrano rushed for 104 yards and two scores. He also caught one pass for a 64-yard touchdown.

n Lukas Davidson, Andrew Lock and Frank Torres, boys tennis, South: Davidson and Torres went 3-1 and placed third in the No. 2 doubles bracket at the South Regional.

Lock, a junior, went 3-0 and won the South Regional title, dropping just four games in the process.

n Sydney Morrell, girls cross-country, Central: The senior won the Durden Invitational in Arvada, Colorado, with a time of 19 minutes, 5.6 seconds.

n Sydni Sawyer, girls swimming, East: The junior won the 100-yard butterfly (1 minute, 6.16 seconds) and 100 breaststroke (1:12.90) during a dual with Cheyenne Central.

n Nathaniel Thornell, boys tennis, Central: The junior No. 2 singles player went 5-0 on the week, with wins at Rock Springs and Green River, before going 3-0 to win the South Regional title.