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The second state championships of the fall season will be challenged for this week as the state tennis tournaments are slated to begin on Thursday.
The Class 5A tournament will be held at Gates Tennis Center while 4A is contested at Pueblo City Park. Both classes will feature new champions at top positions as graduated seniors have moved on from their respective programs. Long story short, Christian Holmes and Richter Jordaan aren't walking on to those courts anytime soon.
The team race in 5A looks like it might come down to the usual suspects as
Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village),
Regis Jesuit (Aurora) and
Fairview (Boulder) all send strong teams.
Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) could also factor in to the race as the Eagles qualified all seven positions, as did
Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins) and
Fort Collins.
There could be a change at the top of the 4A mountain as
Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) looks prime to win its first title in seven years. The Indians will have to battle with
Niwot and fend off talented
Kent Denver (Englewood) and
Colorado Academy (Denver) teams.
In order to come away with championships, each team will have to thrive in as many positions as possible. Here is an outlook at those positions and who might be in line to shine this weekend.
Class 5ANo. 1 singles
With Holmes gone from the field, Regis Jesuit's
Morgan Schilling enters the 5A tournament as the favorite in No. 1 singles. He lost to Holmes 7-5, 7-5 in last year's final giving him plenty of experience in playing and succeeding in that atmosphere. The overall field at No.1 singles should be competitive as plenty of other names from last year's bracket will return to the courts at Gates. Cherry Creek's
George Cavo advanced to the semifinal only to fall to Schilling. Fairview's
Luke Silverman and Denver East's
Louie Salfi also competed in the bracket last year and will look to take advantage Homes' departure.
No. 2 singles
There is a lot of turnover in the No. 2 singles position this year, paving the way for someone to potentially earn crucial team points. Regis Jesuit had the position's champion last year with Kosta Garger, but he graduated in the spring opening the door for a new champion. There is a heavy balance in upper and lowerclassmen in the bracket and
Monarch (Louisville) sophomore
Conner Smith is among the younger group looking to make a name for himself at the state tournament. At 11-2 on the season, he has a chance to do just that.
Broomfield senior
Charlie Vanderberg figures to have one last chance at gold. He saw time at No. 1 singles this year so tough competition might help him get to the podium.
No. 3 singles
Last year it was a Regis Jesuit freshman taking the No. 3 singles title and that trend has a chance of continuing.
Conor Kaczmarczyk will compete in No. 1 doubles this year after marching his way through the third singles bracket a year ago. That leaves
Cameron Kruep as the boys responsible for keeping the championship with the Raiders. But that's going to be a tough task as there are three seniors on his side of the bracket alone. Cherry Creek's
Nick Svichar, a semifinalist in No. 2 singles last year, will represent the Bruins in the last singles spot.
Poudre (Fort Collins) junior
Miles Gamble enters the tournament at 12-2 and his hoping that he can bring a gold medal back to the Fort Collins area.
No. 1 doubles
Brody Pinto is hoping to that a state championship doesn't slip through his fingers for a second year in a row. The junior advanced to the championship of the No. 1 doubles bracket last year only to get beaten by Regis Jesuit. This year he has a new partner in
Ryan Grayson. The Raiders don't have the same team back in the bracket, but Kaczarczyk comes in with the experience of winning gold. Fossil Ridge senior
Trevor Kosonocky is looking to provide a steady veteran hand as he and his sophomore partner
Zach Hartman hope to surprise some people this week.
No. 2 doubles
A collision course between Cherry Creek and Denver East could be on the horizon in No. 2 singles. The Bruins won the title last year and
Andrew Marocchi is back from that championship team. The Angels combination of
Mason Heimel and
William Franks are hoping to avenge last year's loss. Heimel wasn't on the court for that match (he was advancing to semifinals in No. 4 doubles) but Franks was and has every intention of not letting history repeat itself.
No. 3 doubles
The only championship of last year's tournament for Denver East came in No. 3 doubles where
Jack Abbey and
Barry Dechtman took down Fairview. Abbey is back in the bracket this year with new partner
Quentin Wolfe. They'll have a tall task ahead of them if they're going to reach the top of the podium.
No. 4 doubles
Alexander Samuelson and
Nathan Tolva hope to bring gold back for Regis Jesuit. Tolva was part of the team that won the title for the Raiders. But they can't overlook Valor Christian's
Jackson Case and
Noah Fekete. Case played No. 4 doubles last year and has a bad taste in his mouth after the Eagles lost in the first round.
Class 4ANo. 1 singles
Like 5A, the top singles bracket is more open than it has been in some time. Richter Jordaan capped his career with a title in 2018, beating Discovery Canyon's Nick Lorenz. Both graduated and of all the competitors returning from last year it's Niwot's
Neil Wilcox that had the best finish. He advanced to the semifinal and comes in as one of the favorites to win it this year. Cheyenne Mountain's
Joey Geisz is looking to draw on the lessons he learned from getting beat by Wilcox a year ago and thrust the Indians back into the boys tennis spotlight.
No. 2 singles
Cheyenne Mountain's
Paul Jones made a run through the early stages of last year's tournament before falling to eventual champion Clark Steinhauser (Colorado Academy). He's looking to make his way into the finals and have a shot at winning gold and helping Cheyenne Mountain try to win its first state championship since 2012.
Pueblo Central (Pueblo) senior
Aaron Guerrero hopes home court advantage will be enough to get him through the first round and stay in the tournament for a few days. Guerrero lost in the first round last year and didn't make it into playbacks.
No. 3 singles
The third singles position has the most players returning from last year's tournament and each of them don't want to come away empty-handed. Niwot's
Ben Bicknell took second in 2018 and has some familiar faces in his way if he wants to better that result. He'll open the tournament against Golden's
Devin Prehn. Bicknell beat Prehn 6-0, 6-2 in the second round last year. In the semifinal he topped Cheyenne Mountain's
Oliver Muhl 6-1, 6-0. If there is going to be a rematch between those two, it would happen in the championship match. Neither Kent Denver or Colorado Academy qualified for the No. 3 singles bracket which will make it tough in the hunt for a team title.
No. 1 doubles
Where No. 3 singles retuned several competitors from last year, No. 1 doubles sees very few athletes who competed in the bracket in 2018.
Aspen's Georges Ghali advanced to the second round but lost in an effort to reach the semifinal. With new partner
Lukee Tralins at his side, Ghali has the most experience playing in No. 2 doubles at state. Among the new teams competing at the position this year is the
Pueblo Centennial (Pueblo) duo of
Bryant Jones and
Chazz Vigil.
No. 2 doubles
No. 3 doubles
No. 4 doubles
Of the three positions that
Littleton qualified to the state tournament it's
Max Villa-Franzmann and
Tyler Campbell at No. 4 doubles that might have the best chance of bringing hardware home. The sophomore tandem has lost just two matches all season and enter the state tournament as one of the four teams to keep an eye on.
