GLENDALE — Taking over as coach of the two-time defending champions can be a daunting proposition, but Jeff Bloomberg didn’t let the pressure faze him.
In fact, after leading Catalina Foothills’ boys tennis team to its third straight state title on Saturday at Paseo Racquet Center, Bloomberg said it was pretty easy.
“There was a little bit of pressure there from the standpoint of tradition, but once we got started, it wasn’t really a hard thing because I knew the reason why they had won those and it was because they were hard workers,” Bloomberg said.
Catalina Foothills beat Pusch Ridge Christian 5-0 to win its third Division II state championship in a row.
“These guys, they never talked about it but you knew it was in the back of their minds,” Bloomberg said. “When I took this job, I did some research on Foothills tennis and I knew it was a legacy. I told them ‘you’re going to remember this match, one way or the other.’”
Foothills No. 1 Mike Lee, who beat Pusch Ridge’s Shawn Parks 6-4, 7-5, said winning the title 5-0 in back-to-back seasons was a goal.
“I wasn’t there when we first started this three-peat, I didn’t play on the team, but these last two years have definitely been incredible,” Lee said. “I’ll definitely remember them the rest of my life, I mean winning state is definitely one of the best things you can do in tennis; it’s awesome.”
Catalina Foothills’ bid for a boys-girls sweep came up just short as the top seeded girls lost 5-4 to No. 2 Scottsdale Notre Dame. The Falcons trailed 4-2 after singles play and rallied, only to fall in the final doubles match 9-8.
Coach Kristie Stevens called it “a tough one to lose.”
“Every single one of those double matches was so, so close and they dug deep,” she said. “I saw amazing effort on everybody today.”
It was a big day for Stevens’ family: The coach’s husband, Mark, led seventh-seeded Foothills’ softball team to an upset, run-rule victory in the state semifinals.
Kristie Stevens said she was able to watch much of the softball game since it started at 10 a.m. and their match started at 2 p.m.
“I was able to watch softball until about the fifth inning, they had the game pretty secured, I think they were up 8-0 when I left,” Kristie Stevens said. “It’s been quite a day.”
In Division III play, the second-seeded Thatcher boys beat No. 9 Desert Christian 5-2 to claim the championship.
