GIRLS SINGLES PLAYER OF THE YEAR
STELLA de VERA
SCHOOL Rogers Heritage
CLASS Senior
HEIGHT 5-3
NOTABLE Captured overall state tennis championship by defeating Caroline Jones of North Little Rock 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 at Burns Park in Little Rock. … Also beat Jones to win Class 6A state championship, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. … Won 6A-West Conference championship as well after beating Olivia Menendez of Fayetteville, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2. … Will continue her career at Savannah (Ga.) College of Art and Design, where she eventually hopes to become a designer in athletic footwear and clothing.
QUOTABLE “I think I proved, after all the years of playing high school tennis, that I could win. I’m a fourth-generation tennis player on my dad’s side and I’ve been playing since I was 4. I also helped coach my team with my coach and I got to see them improve as well.”
— Rick Fires
GIRLS DOUBLES TEAM OF THE YEAR
GLENNAH LANGFORD
SCHOOL Bentonville
CLASS Junior
HEIGHT 5-8
NOTABLE Teamed with Kavya Kurichety to win overall tournament after beating Caroline Lasley and Khushi Patil of Little Rock Central 7-5, 6-3 at Burns Park in Little Rock. … Also beat the Little Rock doubles team to win Class 6A state tournament. … Won conference doubles championship for the second consecutive year with a 6-4, 6-1 decision over Jailie Bohnert and Elise Nunn of Rogers.
QUOTABLE “I played singles and doubles but, going into the conference tournament, I decided to play doubles. That’s because I felt like Kavya and I had some unfinished business. Last year, we felt like we let the doubles championship slip out of our fingers. This year, we finished business.”
KAVYA KURICHETY
SCHOOL Bentonville
CLASS Sophomore
HEIGHT 5-1
NOTABLE Teamed with Kavya Kurichety to win overall tournament after beating Caroline Lasley and Khushi Patil of Little Rock Central 7-5, 6-3 at Burns Park in Little Rock. …. Also beat the Little Rock doubles team to win Class 6A state tournament. … Won conference doubles championship for the second consecutive year with a 6-4, 6-1 decision over Jailie Bohnert and Elise Nunn of Rogers.
QUOTABLE “The team aspect was a lot better this year. The whole team seemed to get along together better and having everyone cheer for us helped both of us. So, I felt like we had the support we needed.”
— Rick Fires
Heritage tennis player Stella de Vera poses for a portrait, Thursday, December 14, 2023 at the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette studio in Fayetteville. Visit nwaonline.com/photos for today's photo gallery...(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo)Charlie Kaijo
Bentonville tennis player Glennah Langford (from left) and Kavya Kurichety pose for a portrait, Thursday, December 14, 2023 at the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette studio in Fayetteville. Visit nwaonline.com/photos for today's photo gallery...(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo)Charlie Kaijo