Phenom Nathan Gold back to lead way for Kent Denver on courts in 4A
Kent Denver’s Nathan Gold couldn’t have had a better debut in high school tennis than he had in 2021.
The freshman phenom laid claim to the Class 4A state championship at No. 1 singles, while he also helped the Sun Devils to a share of the 4A team state title as they finished in a historic deadlock with Cheyenne Mountain.
At the annual Broncos/CHSAA Fall Sports High School Media Day, Gold said he enjoys the atmosphere surrounding Colorado tennis among the elite company he shares.
“Especially at our level, at tournaments, it’s the same four or five guys that play each other in the finals or semifinals every time,” Gold said.
Gold comes into the new season trying to build on a freshman year that was simply dominant.
He finished with a perfect 20-0 record in a season that saw him defeat all of the top-four placers in the 5A state tournament (champion Aram Izmirian of Cherry Creek, runner-up Conor Kaczmarczyk of Regis Jesuit, third-place finisher Christian Trevey of Valor Christian and fourth-place John Shelby of Fossil Ridge) in the regular season.
Gold followed that by sweeping through four state tournament matches without dropping a single set.
Izmirian talked about the inherent psychological edge owned by players from Cherry Creek — which has won 44 all-time state championships — but said that didn’t apply in his loss to Gold, the only win for the Sun Devils in a head-to-head matchup with the Bruins.
“I can’t say that I scare this kid much,” Izmirian said with a chuckle, gesturing to Gold.
Gold may be a favorite to repeat as 4A’s No. 1 singles individual state champion, but it will come with a twist.
The result of that tournament — scheduled for Oct. 13-15 at Pueblo City Park — won’t have any bearing on the team championship chase this season thanks to the new, college-like format adopted by the Colorado High School Activities Association.
“I think it’s a bit different because you are going to have to focus a little bit more individually because you’re playing more for yourself and not for your team,” Gold said of the change.
Rather than being decided by points accumulated at the individual state tournament, the team champion will be crowned at the end of a 16-team dual tournament that will be determined and seeded by CHSAA’s Tennis Committee on Sept. 23 based on results compiled during the regular season. Elimination play will commence leading up to the 4A dual championship, which will take place alongside 5A at City Park in Denver on Oct. 18.
Kent Denver — winner of 11 all-time state championships, the fourth-most of any program in Colorado history — is loaded for another run at a team title no matter the format.
The Sun Devils’ full singles lineup is back with Gold joined by sophomore Will Moldenhauer (No. 2) and senior Reed Haymons (No. 3), while four doubles players that played in state championship matches — senior Mareks Zeile, juniors Tyler Haymons and Seb Boada and sophomore Jack Cramer — also return. Cramer and Zeile teamed to win last season’s 4A No. 2 doubles title, while Haymons and Boada were runners-up at No. 3 doubles.
Senior-heavy Cheyenne Mountain returns 2021 4A singles state champion Steven Zhou and fellow seniors Tyler Blixt (half of the duo that won the No. 1 doubles state crown) and Johnson Peng (part of the winning No. 3 doubles team) along with both members of the runner-up No. 4 doubles duo in Zach Sartain and Hank Walsh.
