The state tournament for all three divisions of team tennis starts on Friday, April 22 and singles and doubles competition starts on Friday, April 29. The deadline for the state selection process is Thursday, April 14 at noon and the Tennis Advisory Committee will select the 32 entries for each of the three divisions on Thursday, April 21.

The top eight ranked teams will earn an automatic entry for singles and doubles and the remaining 24 entries will be decided at the advisory meeting. The team competition will be based on power-ranking with the top 16 teams earning an automatic berth. There will be a playoff for the final spot or spots if a section champion or champions falls outside on the top 16.

The Amphitheater doubles team of seniors Leilani Ioane and Mi Meh are one of dozens of pairs hoping to get the call welcoming them to the state playoffs but the competition for one of the 24 at-large berths will be difficult. Ioane and Meh are 9-1 on the year and the Panthers are 8-2 as a team.

“Mi Meh's family fled Myanmar ahead of the genocide of her people. They escaped to Thailand and then finally made it to the United States,” explained head coach Tom Danehy.

Meh is the Valedictorian at Amphitheater and Ioane’s academic standing is also impressive.

“Except for the two weeks that Mi Meh spent at a Leadership retreat in Alaska, the two of them were at the Amphi courts every weekday morning at 5:30 during the summer to play until it got too hot. It shows,” Danehy added.

Leilani Ioane. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)