Top teams showing their mettle at big tournaments, head-to-heads in September

It’s only the second week of September and yet the regular season for boys tennis feels more important than ever.

With the new team championship draws being released in less than three weeks, every match coming up carries extra weight. There’s only so many opportunities for teams to make their push to get into the top 16 for each classification, and there were some schools that definitely took advantage last week.

In 5A, Fossil Ridge continues to show the field that they are still a top-five team despite losing multiple top seniors from 2021’s roster. The Sabercats took first place in the Greeley West Invite over several 5A contenders just below them in the rankings, and had a big 4-3 win over Denver East. The Cherry Creek Invitational this upcoming weekend will be a big test for Fossil Ridge and other schools to see if they can hang with the 5A favorites this year.

Arapahoe was another team that had a great tournament up in Greeley, taking second place as a team and also winning its head-to-head earlier in the week against Mountain Vista, 5-2. The Warriors are slowly creeping up the ranks in 5A, solidifying themselves as a top-10 team.

Monarch placed fourth at the Greeley tournament and the Coyotes also had a big head-to-head win over rival Fairview, 4-3, last week, as their seniors Luke Jensen and Callum Conaghan led the way at No. 1 and No. 2 singles. The other big tournament this weekend is the annual Western Slope Invitational, as some top schools like Regis Jesuit, Mountain Vista and Ralston Valley will go battle it out in Grand Junction with other teams pushing for that top 16 spot.

In 4A, Kent Denver continues to show why the Sun Devils are the overwhelming favorites to win the team title. A difficult schedule hasn’t slowed them down one bit as they followed up their huge early-season win over Valor with two more solid victories over 4A contenders Denver South and Colorado Academy.

Cheyenne Mountain remains the top challenger as the Red-Tailed Hawks had a big 5-2 win over D’Evelyn last week, with the Kent Denver vs Cheyenne Mountain matchup looming next Tuesday to really get a feel if the Red-Tailed Hawks can push the Sun Devils this year.

Speaking of the CA Mustangs, they got a big 5-2 win over their fellow Mustangs from Mullen and they have another big matchup this week with their other local rival D’Evelyn.

With all the top 4A schools from last year playing many head-to-heads with each other, there are still some schools on the outside that are much improved and showing the rest of the state they deserve mention as well. One of those schools is Coronado, as No. 1 singles player Miles Hoover, formerly of Cheyenne Mountain, is leading the Cougars to a perfect 5-0 start against their local Colorado Springs competition. Impressive 7-0 wins over Palmer, Lewis-Palmer, and Discovery Canyon, plus a tight 4-3 win over Air Academy show that this team from Coronado is definitely a contender to crack that top 10 in 4A this year. They have a big test this week against Cheyenne Mountain that will show them where they really stand amongst the elite.

With big tournaments this weekend and plenty of important dual matches ahead, the rankings will be sure to change in the coming weeks. Let’s take a look at where these schools stand as of today.

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

Others in consideration: Mountain Vista, Boulder, Chatfield, Legacy, Broomfield, Chaparral

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

Others in consideration: Peak to Peak, Prospect Ridge, Grand Junction, Thompson Valley, Palmer Ridge, Thomas Jefferson