Lady Rams' duo closing in style

PORTALES - Portales High seniors Laura Blaeser and Taryn Wood go way back as friends.

Now, they're about to end their high school careers as Class 1-4A state tennis qualifiers in doubles this week.

Blaeser and Wood, District 4/1-4A champions, are seeded fourth in the eight-team state bracket, but expect to have their work cut out in Thursday's 12:30 p.m. quarterfinals against Albuquerque Academy seniors Lily Zhang and Julia Ross. The state meet, no less, is played at Academy H.S.

"They're always a strong (tennis) school," Wood said of the Chargers. "They always have strong players, so it'll be tough."

Still, they're not backing down.

"We knew we were a pretty strong team," said Wood, who has been a varsity member since she was in the eighth grade. "We had pretty high hopes. We knew we had to get out there and win it."

Blaeser and Wood ran roughshod through last week's district meet at Lovington, losing only five games in three matches. They beat Lovington's Perla Gonzales and Kimberly Villasenor 6-0, 6-4 in the finals.

"That's one of the best (tournaments) we've ever played," Blaeser said. "Something just clicked that day."

The two have been close friends for quite a while. In fact, just last month Blaeser was chosen the valedictorian and Wood the salutatorian at PHS.

They are the only players in either the boys or girls program who are above the sophomore class.

"It's kind of weird being seniors," Blaeser said. "We've always been the youngsters, but it's nice to be able to lead the team a little bit."

Lady Rams coach Ann-Marie Bucksath said the state berth is an appropriate way for Blaeser and Wood to put a bow on high school.

"It's really neat that they're playing together," she said.

Blaeser, the youngest daughter of former Eastern New Mexico University women's tennis coach Christine Blaeser, is fairly new at the game. She played softball early on, and didn't join the tennis program until her sophomore year, after recovering from breaking her neck in two places when she fell into the water while tubing on a lake the previous summer.

Her doctor said any kind of contact sports was out after that, but eventually cleared her for tennis in the spring of 2019.

"Taryn was already (playing tennis)," she said, "and she's my best friend."

Wood went to state with the Lady Rams' team in 2017 and 2018, and both were part of their state qualifying squad the following year. Wood also made it in singles in 2019, but lost in the first round.

"I'm excited for them to get in," Bucksath said. "When you play against Academy, you know it's going to be a battle. They're going to do what they've done all year long."

Semifinals in the eight-team bracket will be played Thursday afternoon, with the championship match slated for noon on Saturday.