Competition heating up in boys tennis heading into September

We are now three weeks into the boys tennis season and things are really starting to pick up.

The end of August signals that the heart of the season is just around the corner as September always bring the biggest regular-season matches and tournaments. Looking at the past week, however, has already shown some true contenders looking stronger while other schools are making statements that they belong in the conversation as well.

The main event was the Panther Invitational, as some of the top 5A and 4A schools battled it out over two days up in Boulder.

After suffering a rare loss against Class 4A favorite Kent Denver earlier in the week, Valor Christian bounced right back and showed why the Eagles still will be a huge threat to Cherry Creek’s chances of repeating as 5A champion. The Eagles took the tournament easily and had some big wins from No. 1 singles senior Christian Trevey. He rolled through some state returners from last year a nd looked like he will be very difficult to beat this season.

Denver East took second and showed they are still in the top five conversation in 5A as well, while other teams like Monarch and Ralston Valley had strong showings too. On the 4A side, Niwot’s Luke Weber had a statement win over last year’s finalist Aswaanth Karuppasamy from D’Evelyn, while Denver South’s Raphael Wieland had a good tournament as well. Those three are the returning semifinalists from 4A last year and will continue to try and take down defending champion Nathan Gold from Kent Denver.

Speaking of Kent Denver, that huge 5-2 win over Valor Christian solidifies them as the team to beat this season in 4A.

Cheyenne Mountain still looms as a threat but the Red-Tailed Hawks also played Valor tough but suffered a 1-6 defeat which means they have some work to do to catch the Sun Devils. Some other schools that had big wins included Mullen with an impressive 7-0 sweep of Columbine capped by Jack Barker’s thrilling three-set win over the Rebels’ Ben Cechak. D’Evelyn beat Chatfield, 6-1, as Karuppasamy countered his loss to Niwot in the tournament with a strong win over the Chargers’ Daniel Smith, who in turn beat Niwot’s Weber as well this weekend.

No. 1 singles this year is turning out to be even more of a gauntlet than usual. Arapahoe had a big win over Ralston Valley with No. 1 singles freshman Cale Brush showing he will be a threat for years to come. Also keep an eye on the Grandview Wolves, who took first place in the Eaglecrest Tom Moore Invitational and have maybe the No. 1 singles favorite for 5A in Eduard Tsaturyan, a senior from Russia who moved to Colorado and has the highest UTR by far of any high school player currently.

With more big matches to come next week, the standings will surely be shaken up again. Here is an updated picture of where the top teams stand.

Class 5A
1. Cherry Creek
2. Valor Christian
3. Regis Jesuit
4. Denver East
5. Fairview
6. Monarch
7. Arapahoe
8. Ralston Valley
9. Mountain Vista
10. Grandview

Others in consideration: Boulder, Heritage, Lakewood, Chatfield, Legacy, Erie

Class 4A
1. Kent Denver
2. Cheyenne Mountain
3. Niwot
4. Denver South
5. D’Evelyn
6. Colorado Academy
7. Mullen
8. George Washington
9. Evergreen
10. Peak to Peak

Others in consideration: Air Academy, Prospect Ridge, Grand Junction, University, Thompson Valley, Palmer Ridge