5A boys tennis: Cherry Creek pulls away from Valor Christian to claim 44th team title
DENVER – On Saturday at Gates Tennis Center, the Cherry Creek boys tennis team formed a tight circle with players and coaches interlocking arms and the Bruins chanted the lyrics to a song written by freshman Charlie Stern.
It was a celebration of the Bruins winning the Class 5A team championship by six points over runner-up Valor Christian to claim the overall title for the 44th time, which is far and away the most of any program in Colorado’s history. And while the Bruins winning state championships has be commonplace for decades, Saturday’s celebration reminded head coach Art Quinn of how unique each of Cherry Creek’s championships has been.
“Each one presents its own set of challenges and changes, and each group of players brings their energies and abilities to the table. That makes each one different than the last, like a snowflake,” Quinn said. “This one was beautiful. Lots of teams presented worthy adversaries. Valor presented a real, real threat and a challenge. If our players, our coaches and our program doesn’t rise to the occasion, we’re not the ones standing with the championship trophy.”
This latest race for the Class 5A team title was about as close as they come.
Cherry Creek and Valor Christian were tied for the team scoring after Day 1 and again after Day 2. Entering the third and final day, each team had advanced players to the championship matches at six of the seven positions, and the teams met head-to-head at No. 2 singles, No. 3 singles, No. 1 doubles, No. 2 doubles and No. 4 doubles.
The Bruins prevailed in both singles matchups and in two out of three doubles meetings to pull away and win with 85 team points to Valor Christian’s 79.
“I feel like everyone did what they had to do,” Cherry Creek No. 3 singles player Kiril Kostadinov said. “We performed well, we all played hard and we had a good time. I’m looking forward to next year.”
The Valor Christian Eagles have never won a boys tennis team title but have now finished third or better in three straight seasons. Over the past three days, they gave themselves a chance, but Eagles head coach Bill Epping said the defending champions proved to be too tough in the finals.
“Art and his crew answered the bell, as they always do,” Epping said. “So first and foremost, congrats to Cherry Creek. They outplayed us today. We were able to get a couple of lines and I couldn’t be happier for our seniors that got state championships. It’s a baby-step process for us up to second place but Creek’s a tough out. On paper, it looked like we had some options but they had us today. That’s just a class group of kids they have there.”
Fossil Ridge, the winner of this year’s Vicky Matarazzo Sportsmanship Award, was third with 48 teams points. Regis Jesuit, the 2019 team champion, was third with 39 points. Denver East was fifth with 20 points, and Ralston Valley and Boulder tied for sixth with 12 points.
