After losing last year in the playoffs to an unseeded team, Lillie Duitsman and Alex Heyn made a promise.

On Thursday, they kept it after defeating Saguaro’s Bella Reyes and Maddie Tately 21-14, 21-13 for the Division II beach pairs state title at Casteel High. The Gilbert Christian dynamos also made school history, becoming the first team to win a beach crown.

“After the last playoff game from last year, we made this a goal and said that we were going to win it this year,” Duitsman said. “We prioritized it this year early on in the season. So it’s just so fun to see that we did it.”

Losing in the state team semifinals on April 23 also served as extra motivation for the Gilbert Christian pair.

In the D-II pairs final, they went up against Bella Reyes, a St. Mary’s commit, who was making her second consecutive pairs championship appearance. Reyes and this year’s partner, Tately, had lost only one match this season during their successful run as the No. 1 seed entering the final.

Saguaro's Maddie Tately and Bella Reyes

But No. 3 Duitsman and Heyn took control early and kept the pressure on. The traditional hitter (Heyn), defender (Duitsman) beach pair only lost two sets during their 19-1 championship campaign.

There to cheer them on were many fans and teammates. It took some time, but coach Bill Tennison is starting to build a very strong Gilbert Christian program.

“We’ve been close in indoor and beach,” Tennison said. “We finally broke through.

“Most of the team was here, so it was fun to have everybody out.”

Duitsman, a sophomore, and Heyn, a junior, will return next year.

“I like pressure,” said Heyn about defending the title in 2026. “Pressure makes you better.”