JDHS senior Elliot Welch wins 12th region tennis title in four years
- Klas Stolpe
- Sep 29
- 10 min read
Crimson Bears tennis team finish Region V play, prepare for state
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Elliot Welch completed his final Region V tennis career with an incredible resume Saturday, winning his 12th title as he and classmate Paige Kirsch defeated junior Isaac Hill and senior Bella Reyes-Boyer in mixed doubles 6-2, 6-4.
Welch is a four-time Southeast champion in singles, boys doubles and mixed doubles and will make his fourth trip to the ASAA State Tournament Oct. 9-11 at Anchorage’s Alaska Club East.
“I think that is pretty cool,” Welch said. “Coach Austin (Stefanich) and coach Mona (Mametsuka) and Coach Kincheloe (Anne) said I was the first to do it. Ever since freshman year, the goal was to get what I call the quadruple triple crown and every year it has gotten harder. My teammates are so supportive and also competitive. Every year they were like, ‘We have to beat Elliot,’ and that was their goal, but they made it fun. I didn’t really expect to win them all…Our mixed team is always strong, and so the battle for regions is tough, and singles is tough because we have good players. So this feels awesome, and I appreciate them and my team.”
Welch and Hill teamed up to win the boys' double by defeating the team of freshmen Oscar Lamb and Paxton Willoughby 6-0, 6-0 and the team of junior Daniel Degener and freshman Isaac Kirsch 6-1, 6-1.
“The hardest title to get was the mixed,” Welch said. “Isaac and Bella are very strong and pretty good partners together and that was just the hardest one to win. But me and Paige put up a fight. Our last point in the last game that we won went to 13-deuce. So that one game took us like 10 minutes just to finish that one. It was so long, but I would say that one was definitely the hardest.”
Welch won his strongest discipline, boys singles, on Friday over Hill 6-3, 6-0.
“The score doesn’t really represent how close each game really goes to,” Welch said. “Most games go to 40 and to deuce. A lot of people might think I win severely, but I don’t win that much over 50% of my points. It’s a weird statistic, which shows how strong our team is…Our team, everyone just supports each other, obviously, since everyone is great friends and they are supportive towards you. That is how it has been for me all my years. Oh, they do want to beat me, like, they sometimes cheer when I miss a shot at practice, but I know it is just for fun and I like it and I just go with it.”
JDHS junior Aurora Madsen won two titles in the tournament as she defeated P. Kirsch 4-2, 4-5 (5) and 1-0 (6) for the girls singles crown Saturday, and with classmate Riley Dale won the girls doubles crown on Friday over P. Kirsch and senior Ainsley Mallott, 7-6 (2), 6-0.
“It feels pretty good,” Madsen said. “I put in a good bit of work this season and the off-season in the past year, so it was nice to see that some of it counted and I did pretty well…I value them both, but the doubles meant more. The coaches have been putting Riley and I together quite a bit, so we have put in a lot of work on improving our communication and working well together as a team. But then it was also nice to see that my hard work paid off in singles and that my strokes are doing well.”
The two titles are her first regional gold medals. She placed second in singles last season, losing to 2025 JDHS graduate Milinia Mazon, and traveled to state for the first time as a doubles partner with Reyes-Boyer.
“I am not sure what I will play at state,” Madsen said. “The coaches will tell us pretty soon about that, but I’m guessing that it will be girls' doubles. Last year, I played girls' doubles with my other teammate, Bella Reyes-Boyer, and we got fifth. I think that it would be interesting to come back in girls' doubles and kind of know my competition. I would have more intel and I could probably come back a little stronger…I think this year's team is super strong. I think that we have got a lot of variety in players and skill sets for sure. We have some younger players who are doing really well, like some freshmen like Isaac Kirsch. And then we have our long-term players like Elliot Welch and this is his last year. So it will be fun to see how well he can play at state. I think we have a lot to offer this year and maybe we even have a shot at first. We'll see.”
Dale played at state last season in girls' singles and also values both disciplines.
“I think Aurora and I have been really good friends for a couple years,” Dale said. “So we have learned each other’s strengths and we work on that together. I am pretty good at the baseline and I have a really good serve, and Aurora is really good at the net.”
Reyes-Boyer noted how difficult the mixed doubles discipline can be.
“Usually the strategy is to hit to the girl on the opposing team,” she said. “That is kind of bad, and that usually is me, but fortunately I had a really good partner (Isaac Hill). He can win an entire set with just his serves. I am so grateful for him and we are usually good at keeping the ball in, which is good, and he is good at reading strategies, and I am good at following the strategies.”
The junior varsity open doubles title was won by senior Samuel Lagerquist and freshman Oliver Rogers over juniors Katherine Hieb and Saige Sowa 8-5.
JDHS will take eight varsity athletes to state, and players can only participate in one discipline. The team will be announced later this week. As a team the past three seasons they have placed third, second and third. Last year Alex Rehfeldt and Mazon, then seniors, won mixed doubles.
One certainty, however, is that Welch will be competing in the boys' singles. Last year he placed third. He opened state with a win (Lathrop senior James Peng) then faced the top two players in Alaska (West senior Jude Cebrian and Service senior Ulysses Escobar). Welch won a tiebreaker over Cebrian to earn the semifinals but fell to Escobar in a tiebreaker, then lost a rematch to Cebrian in yet another tiebreaker (Escobar defeated Cebrian for the state title).
“Ever since I got into high school I kind of figured I would be playing singles,” Welch said. “I like playing by myself, although over the years I think doubles have has been really fun. My sophomore year I played doubles at state with Brendan West because he was a senior and we were friends, and we played through elementary and middle school.”
JDHS plays in an invitational tournament each September in Anchorage to see their state competition. Coaches wanted Welch to play three matches back-to-back and six singles matches total.
“Really I just keep in my mind that anything could happen at state,” he said. “Anyone can beat me. I can have off days like everyone else, and I just have to stay focused and stay positive. Just do my best...We definitely have a really good chance of placing high at state because we get points from each discipline individually and as a team…Our mixed and our doubles teams are pretty strong so we have a pretty good chance of placing high.”
Last season he earned the nickname “the Diesel Engine” at the invitational as he trailed 1-4 in a match, but came back to win the set in a tiebreaker.
“It takes me a minute to warm up and finally get going,” he said. “So I came off the court and the coaches are like, ‘You’re our diesel engine.’ So I have to make sure I warm up at least 15 minutes before the game because it takes me a minute to warm up and finally get going.”
Welch’s tennis journey began when at age 11 his family moved from Palmer to Juneau in 2018. He had played for fun on outdoor courts in Palmer and found himself playing at Cope Park against adults.
One, Kim Mahar, introduced him to Coach Mametsuka and The Alaska Club.
“I think the sport is really fun to play in general,” Welch said. He also stars on the JDHS hockey and soccer teams. “All sports in general in our community in Juneau is amazing. Everyone is so nice. They were willing to play with literally any level and when I came to Juneau I was accepted right away. I was not playing competitively, just for fun for like a year in Palmer…I came to town and played at Cope Park and they hit with me…Going to the club and playing at open sessions at 8 a.m. or 6 p.m. They invited me. I mean they made me who I am today with my attitude and they tuned me to be who I am today. They made me calm.”
Welch’s 12 regional medals are inscribed with winners’ names. As a freshman Welch won boys doubles with Rehfeldt and mixed with senior Katie Pikul (Pikul would take the girls singles state title); sophomore year with West (West and Welch would place third at state) and Mazon; junior year with senior Hayden Soboleff and Ainsley Mallott; this year with Hill and Kirsch.
“Well, they sit in my closet,” Welch said. “I mean, I don’t know what I will do with them, like, they are medals… but they mean more as memories. You look back on them every so often and you are like, ‘Oh, that was so cool,’ and those friends mean a lot to me...I don’t know what the future holds. I don’t know if I will play in college or some other league, but I will definitely be playing just for fun and with the community.”
REGION V TOURNAMENT SCORES
Boys singles
Tues. - Degener defeated jr. Yvan Guyard 4-0, 4-2 /// I. Kirsch defeated Hill 1-4, 4-1, 1-0 (6).
Wed. - Welch def. Degener 4-0, 4-1 /// Hill eliminated Guyard 4-0, 4-0 /// Hill elim. Degener 4-1, 4-2.
Fri. - Welch def. Kirsch 6-1, 6-0 /// Hill elim. Kirsch 4-2, 4-0 /// Welch wins title over Hill 6-3, 6-0.
Girls singles
Wed. - Dale def. Sowa 4-0, 4-1 //// P.Kirsch def. Mallott 4-1, 4-1 //// Thurs. - Reyes-Boyer def. Dale 4-1, 3-5, 1-0 (5) //// Madsen def. P.Kirsch 4-1 4-0 //// Dale elim. Mallott 4-0, 4-1 //// P.Kirsch elim. Sowa 4-0, 5-4 (1) //// Fri. - Madsen def. Reyes-Boyer 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (6) //// Sat. - P.Kirsch elim. Reyes-Boyer 4-2, 4-5 (5), 1-0 (6) //// Madsen wins title over P.Kirsch 7-5, 6-4.
Boys doubles
Tues. - Degener/I.Kirsch def. Lamb/Willoughby 6-1, 6-0 //// Wed. - Hill/Welch def. Lamb/Willoughby 6-0, 6-0 //// Hill/Welch def. I.Kirsch/Degener 6-1, 6-1.
Girls doubles
Tues. - Dale/Madsen def. sr. Lydia Heidemann/sr. Hazel McWilliams 4-0, 4-0 //// Wed. - P. Kirsch/Mallott def. Reyes-Boyer/Sowa 4-2, 4-1 //// Thurs. - Dale/Madsen def. P.Kirsch/Mallott 7-5, 6-4 //// Fri. - Reyes-Boyer/Sowa elim. Heidemann/McWilliams 4-0, 4-0 //// P.Kirsch/Mallott elim. Reyes-Boyer/Sowa 4-1, 4-1 //// Dale/Madsen win title over P.Kirsch/Mallott 7-6 (2), 6-0.
Mixed doubles
Tues. - Hill/Reyes-Boyer def. Degener/McWilliams 4-0, 4-1 //// I.Kirsch/Mallott def. Guyard/Madsen 4-2, 4-1 //// Wed. - Welch/P.Kirsch def. Hill/Reyes-Boyer 4-0, 2-4, 1-0 (6) //// Guyard/Madsen elim. Degener/McWilliams 4-1, 4-1 //// Welch/P.Kirsch def. I.Kirsch/Mallott 6-2, 6-0 //// Hill/Reyes-Boyer elim. Guyard/Madsen 4-1, 4-2 //// Sat. - Hill/Reyes-Boyer elim. I.Kirsch/Mallott 5-4 (5), 4-2 //// Welch/P.Kirsch win title over Hill/Reyes-Boyer 6-2, 6-4.
Open doubles
Tues. - so. Delphine Hochstoeger/so. Kiera Jenkins def. Hieb/Sowa 6-4 //// Lagerquist/Rogers def. fr. Fiona Koelsch/sr. Mya Hood 8-0 //// Wed. - fr. Mia Alexander/fr. Naisha Bathija def. fr. Josselyn Davis/fr. Alana Nguyen 6-2 //// Thurs. - Heidemann/McWilliams def. Alexander/Bathija 8-2 //// Lagerquist/Rogers def. Hochstoeger/Jenkins 6-4 //// Hieb/Sowa elim. Hood/Koelsch 8-2 //// Hochstoeger/Jenkins elim. Davis/Nguyen 8-2 ////Fri. - Lagerquist/Rogers def. Heidemann/McWilliams 8-2 //// Hieb/Sowa elim. Alexander/Bathija //// Hieb/Sowa elim. Hochstoeger/Jenkins 8-4 //// Sat. - Hieb/Sowa elim. Heidemann/McWilliams 8-4 //// Lagerquist/Rogers win title over Hieb/Sowa 8-5.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
