When the Class 5A state tennis tournament concludes Saturday at Gates Tennis Center in Denver, the final match will represent the end of an era.
After 38 seasons – 24 as head coach – with the
Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) boys tennis program, head coach Kirk Price is planning to retire. Under Price's tutelage the Bruins have dominated the state scene for decades, winning three 6A titles and 18 5A titles. Price's retirement won't keep him from still being part of the program though.
"I don't plan on leaving Cherry Creek tennis. I'll be around as a volunteer coach as long as the new head coach will have me," he said. "But we'll just see how that goes. A lot of years and a lot of my life have been spent doing this."
The tennis championships, combined with the eight his swimming teams captured, are just part of what have made Price so successful. He was selected to the Colorado High School Coaches Association's Hall of Fame in 2004 and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2011.
"Coach Price has certainly been the prominent figure in tennis for the state of Colorado. He has run a program of anywhere from 125-150 players for (24) years," Bruins Athletic Director Jason Wilkins said in an e-mail. "At Cherry Creek Coach Price has represented a program that has excelled not only on the court, but in the classroom as well – they have been academic all-state every year."
The 2014 tournament gets underway Thursday morning with the first two rounds of play. The semifinals will take place Friday, with the championship matches starting at 9 a.m. Saturday. The 4A state tournament runs the same time at Pueblo City Park.
Cherry Creek has claimed 12 of the past 13 team titles in 5A, the only exception coming in 2010 when Regis Jesuit (Aurora) finished first. Last fall the team was as close to perfect as can be, scoring 98 points and taking each of the seven championship matches.
Price said that's only the fourth time during his tenure where Creek swept the tourney.
"I would say of the 36 or 37 times I've been there with this team, everything has to fall just right for that to occur," he said. "When you get to state there is good competition. For your kids to go through the whole tournament without a loss is exceptional.
"But even this year's team, they have that opportunity."
The Bruins swept through the Region 1 tournament and will have their entire team represented this weekend. Sophomore
Ethan Hillis, the No. 3 singles champion a year ago, is among the favorites at No. 1 singles this weekend in a bracket that includes
Ignatius Castelino of
Fairview (Boulder), who is a three-time state runner-up.
Senior
Harshil Dwivedi is at No. 2 singles and
Robby Hill is at No. 3 singles. The No. 1 doubles tandem of
Jacob Bendalin and
Wyatt Dale won it all a year ago at the No. 4 position.
Since a 4-3 dual loss to Fairview, Price said his team has been on the rise.
"We switched the lineup a little bit, and I think we've been improving every day," he said. "We're looking forward to it, and I'm sure so is Fairview."
The Knights also qualified their entire team and are among those looking to unseat the Bruins after finishing second three years in a row.
Boulder is also represented in all seven positions, as are
Arapahoe (Centennial),
Denver East,
Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins) and
Heritage (Littleton).
Beating Cherry Creek is easier said than done. The Bruins may have graduated their top two singles players from last season, but re-loading is something Creek makes look easy.
"I've gone through many, many years of losing players," Price said. "Many years ago I gave up fretting about it because there's always a lot of good players coming through our program."
Class 5A state tennis bracketsSun Devils eye another 4A repeatOver the past 11 seasons,
Kent Denver (Englewood) has wrapped up five 4A state titles in boys tennis. Twice the Sun Devils have been repeat champions – in 2003-04, and 2008-09.
After dominating the field a year ago, the team is hoping to make lightning strike for a third time this weekend in Pueblo.
The Sun Devils qualified their entire squad to the 4A state tourney and have four returning state champions –
Willie Goldat No. 1 singles (won at No. 2 in 2013);
Casey Ross at No. 2 singles (won at No. 3);
Kevin Adams at No. 1 doubles (won in same spot); and
Jack Trueblood at No. 4 doubles (won in same spot).
Kent Denver finished with 91 points a year ago and four individual titles.
Colorado Academy (Denver) was second with 54 points and titles at No. 2 and 3 doubles. The Mustangs also qualified their entire squad, as did
Air Academy (US Air Force Academy),
Niwot and
Steamboat Springs.
Class 4A state tennis brackets
