As one of the few sports that was given the green light to play last fall, the boys tennis season in Colorado has been genuinely out of action for a long time.
Action picks up this week as the players return to the courts with their eyes on returning to normal state championship tournaments in October. While both classifications saw notable players graduate from the high school game, there is plenty of returning talent to make 2021 a compelling season.
Here is a quick overview of each classification, looking at teams that should contend for state titles as well as players that should perform well through the course of the year.
Class 5ATeam overview: Like most years, the battle for the team championship could come down to a Saturday duel between
Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) and
Regis Jesuit (Aurora). The powerhouses are constantly in the mix for the team crown and seem to find a way to remain relevant despite losing talented players year after year.
Last year,
Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) finished a distant third behind the Bruins and Raiders and advanced three positions to the semifinals. The Eagles qualified all seven positions last fall, have a lot of talent returning and could find themselves in the mix.
No. 1 Singles: Regis Jesuit's Morgan Schilling claimed the top singles crown last year, but did so as a senior. With his departure, the position looks wide open. In fact, every semifinalist from last fall graduated. That leaves the door open for fresh faces in the bracket. Valor Christian's
Jack Scherer is one of two returning players in the bracket to even advance to the quarterfinals, with
Lakewood's Jake Haas being the other. They will have to contend with the likes of
Conor Kaczmarczyk (Regis Jesuit) and Marr Batmunkh (Cherry Creek), who are in line to assume the top spots for their teams.
No. 2 Singles: This could be one of the more competitive brackets this season. Both the champion and runner-up from last year are prime for a jump to No. 1 singles, leaving a wide open field. Valor's
Christian Trevey advanced to the semifinals last year and has a ton of competition to deal with. Ian Kitchen of
Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) should return. Nick Bowers of
Chatfield (Littleton) should also be better and looking to build on his advancement to the quarterfinals.
No. 3 Singles: The third singles position figures to have plenty of fresh faces either in the way of freshmen or players who previously played doubles and now look to take the game on single-handed. Valor's
Drew Schell returns as a junior and with neither Trevey or Scherer graduating, likely has the most experience among everyone in the field in 2021.
Greeley West's Nico Jamison
File photo by Brent Murphy
No. 1 Doubles: Cherry Creek's Kristian and Kiril Kostadinov claimed the top doubles title championship and neither player graduated from the program. Should they remain together and not break up with one of the siblings going into singles, they would be the favorites to once again claim the top podium spot.
No. 2 Doubles: Denver East's Gavin Wehrle advanced to the quarterfinals last year but his partner, Alec Biermann, graduated. If they stay in the position, Pine Creek's Robert Lindly and Silas Stowell could be in a position to make a run at a state championship.
No. 3 Doubles: Caden Bell of
Fairview (Boulder) made his way to the semifinals as just a freshman. He lost his partner, Dillon Tooman, to graduation but if he finds a new partner, perhaps Henry Burke, the Knights could get some gold at state.
No. 4 Doubles: Cherry Creek freshman Matt Hu got his high school tennis career off to a great start as he and partner Blake Hoist battled their way to a state crown. Hoist is gone, but Hu might either find a new partner to make it two in a row or try to move up in position. Either way, the No. 4 doubles position should provide plenty of new faces to the landscape this fall.
Class 4ATeam overview: A thrilling run saw
Niwot capture the team championship last year. The Cougars have been in the mix for the team title the past several seasons and finally got that evasive crown. They hope to challenge again this season but will have to fend off some of the usual suspects in
Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) and
Mullen (Denver).
Despite second-round losses in No. 1 and No. 2 singles, Cheyenne Mountain put together a solid run to end the state tournament in a tie with Mullen for second place.
Kent Denver (Cherry Hills Village) expects its state experience from last season will make it a contender. All four programs graduated key players, but should find a way to remain in contention come October.
No. 1 Singles: Although a lot of talented players graduated last year, there are some big-time talents remaining in the hunt for the top singles title.
Greeley West's Nico Jamison has to be the favorite as he advanced to the final last year and pushed eventual champion Neil Wilcox of Niwot to three sets. Kent Denver's Colin Boublik, Gavin Hutter of
Sand Creek (Colorado Springs), Alan Davis of
Palmer Ridge (Monument) and
Denver South's Raphael Weiland should provide a stacked bracket come the state tournament in October.
No. 2 Singles: Kent Denver's Finn Cooper made a strong run to the final last fall but couldn't claim the championship. With Mullen's George Henry Hanzel graduated and teammate Boublik likely staying in the No. 1 singles spot, Cooper should have a clear path back to the final and another shot at a state title. It won't be a sure thing, though, as Lucas Krambeck of
George Washington (Denver) and Palmer Ridge's Ben Carlander can also make noise throughout the year.
No. 3 Singles: The third singles position will be a very open race this fall. Although last year's champion (Niwot's
Luke Weber) and runner-up (
Aspen's Chase Kelly) are back with their teams, they'll likely move up in position. This could be a year in which someone like
Air Academy (US Air Force Academy) sophomore
Noah Hellem makes a run and finds his way to the top of the podium.
No. 1 Doubles: Ryan Orris and Ian McLeod of
Dawson School (Lafayette) looked strong in their opening match only to fall to Niwot's Lichen Liao and Ivan Calderon in the quarterfinals. With a lot of seniors graduating from the position, Orris and McLeod have a great chance to better their result from last year's tournament.
No. 2 Doubles: Cheyenne Mountain's Miles Hoover knows the feeling of claiming a state title as he and Carver Ward battled to a No. 1 doubles title. Ward graduated and Hoover could be poised to break out in singles, but if he returns to the position for the Red-Tailed Hawks, he has the experience needed to defend his title.
No. 3 Doubles: Like Hoover at Cheyenne Mountain, Hudson Park of
Colorado Academy (Denver) knows a thing or two about winning gold. He grabbed a doubles title here last fall as a sophomore. He will need a new partner as Michael Ford graduated, but if he gets one he could be tough to stop in his title defense.
No. 4 Doubles: The
D'Evelyn (Denver) duo of Vince Cushine and Jake Davis cruised into the semifinals before running into Kent Denver's eventual championship duo of Mareks Zeile and William Writer. Davis graduated and a fresh teammate for Cushine could result in another deep tournament run.
