Boys tennis: Team semifinal and individual tournament preview
The semifinals of the team state tournament are set, regionals have concluded, and the individual state draws have been released. It’s the middle of October which means that the 2022 boys tennis season is nearing its conclusion. Both team and individual titles will be claimed in the next week, and it’s feels like the most recent results throughout the state are a sign of things tightening up as teams reach the home stretch.
The team tournament has gone mostly as expected so far, according to seeds. When combining 5A and 4A, there have only been 2 upsets of the lower seed winning in the 24 head to head matchups so far. It could mean more of the same going forward, or maybe the upsets are coming as the matchups get more important. Before individual state arrives on Thursday, we must first see who will be playing in the inaugural finals of the team tournament.
Class 5A
(1) Cherry Creek vs. (4) Fossil Ridge
No surprises in the quarterfinals of 5A, as most of the favorites won with room to spare. But with the top dogs coming out on top so far, it sets up some thrilling semifinals, starting with the defending state champs Cherry Creek vs. perennial contender Fossil Ridge. The Bruins haven’t lost a line yet in the team tournament, and they will head into their clash with the Sabercats with a decisive advantage in singles. The trio of Aram Izmirian and the Kostadinov brothers are a big challenge for Tyler Van Tassell, Andrew Roerty and Bennett Johnson. But Fossil’s strength has always been it’s doubles, and they will need to possibly sweep Creek at these lines if they want to deny the Bruins a shot at their 45th state title. Creek remains the title favorites for a reason, as beating them head to head still proves to be a colossal task for the rest of the teams in the state.
(2) Valor Christian vs. (3) Regis Jesuit
Valor was able to fight off a pesky Fairview team in the quarterfinals while Regis got past Ralston Valley in a tighter match than the score would suggest. It sets up a matchup between the two teams that have been the biggest threats to Cherry Creek the past few years. But only one will get to move onto the finals, and Valor has a big edge at 1 singles as senior Christian Trevey looks primed to challenge the best 5A has to offer at individual state. Freshman Clay Dickey has been fantastic all season battling the best of the best, but it’s 3 singles player Brady Jenkins that has the advantage over Valor’s Mitchell Perez. If the singles end up 2-1, then the doubles might be even closer. These two teams both played in the Ralston Valley Invitational earlier this year and have some close head to heads, but the difference might be Valor’s late addition to their lineup. Former 3 singles runner up Ryan Greenfield is back from injury to slide into 2 doubles behind a formidable 1 doubles team of Drew Schell and Graham Beukelman. The top of doubles is why it looks like the Eagles might sneak past the Raiders and make the inaugural finals of the team state bracket.
Class 4A
(1) Kent Denver vs. (4) Colorado Academy
In 4A, things appear to be much tighter than 5A as most of the top teams advanced but there were some serious nail-biters. Kent Denver had rolled Niwot 7-0 just a week before their quarterfinal matchup, but the Cougars played inspired tennis and almost shocked the tennis world in a close 3-4 loss. Colorado Academy won the battle of the Mustangs over Mullen 5-2, and it sets up a great match between Denver rivals. Kent has the 1 singles title favorite Nathan Gold, who is basically just a cheat code at this point as he dominates the majority of his matches. CA answers with Fabi Frenz at 2 singles, who has been one of the best 2 singles players in the state for both 4A and 5A. It will be up to senior Reed Haymons to claim the singles edge for the Sun Devils. Doubles should be tight too as the Mustangs team of Charlie May and Michael McKee already beat Kent Denver once, but Kent has the 2 doubles pair of Mareks Zeile and Jack Cramer going for the perfect season as they remain undefeated, including a win over Cherry Creek. Kent remains the favorite but CA has the firepower to pull off the upset.
(2) Cheyenne Mountain vs. (6) George Washington
Cheyenne had to scrap their way past D’Evelyn 5-2, but the big stunner of the quarterfinals was the Patriots of GW taking it to Denver South and avenging an earlier loss in the season. GW is firing on all cylinders at the moment and they have some lines that could pose a big threat to the Red-Tailed Hawks. Ryan Hajek is one of the best 3 singles players in the state for GW, as is the doubles pair of Carlisle Wright and Bryce Dilworth at 2 doubles. But while Cheyenne always has solid singles players, they might have the best doubles depth in the state as Cameron Ford and Patrick Gibbs at 3 and Jake Schultz and Patrick Barker at 4 have been lights out all season. This one looks to be the closest of the four semi finals, and while CM remains the favorite, don’t be surprised if the Patriots do it again and stun another 4A powerhouse to make the finals.
Individual State Preview
After the team semi finals conclude on Tuesday, the individual state tournament begins on Thursday. Some of the biggest storylines revolve around 1 singles players trying to defend their titles. Aram Izmirian from Cherry Creek is going to have his hands full at 5A, as Grandview’s Eduard Tsaturyan looks primed to come to Colorado for his senior year to steal the title. Don’t sleep on Valor’s Christian Trevey, who is playing outstanding tennis and could end up facing Izmirian again in the semifinals after last year’s incredible semifinal match where Izmirian fought off multiple match points on his way to a title. I think all the fans watching would gladly sign up for another round of that.
Nathan Gold has cruised all season in his quest to go for a repeat, something so rare to do as an underclassman. He will have to dodge the threat of Roee Sela of Prospect Ridge on his half of the draw, who pushed Gold at regionals more than most have all year. But the real threat lurking could be last year’s finalist Aswaanth Karuppasamy of D’Evelyn who appears to have regained top form just in time for a potential finals rematch. Niwot’s Luke Weber will be looking to crack the next level after bowing out in the semis last year and possibly find a second win this season over Karuppasamy to secure his place in the final.
It wouldn’t be a state tournament without exciting 1st round matchups as well, as the draws always reward us with a few blockbusters right out of the gate. Trevor Hajek and Daniel Smith should be an awesome opener at 5A 1 singles, and a Regis Jesuit – Fossil Ridge showdown at 3 singles is something you rarely see before the semifinals. With a ton of good teams in the field like Arapahoe, Ralston Valley, Denver East, Fairview and a whole lot more, 5A should be a wild ride as the tournament moves to City Park for the first time.
There are some even better 1st round matchups at 4A, as the smaller gap between top teams means too many important early matches to cover. But the standouts are Roee Sela and Rafa Wieland at 1 singles, as either player could easily make the semis and push the defending champ Gold. For the 3rd time this year we will get another epic Steven Zhou – Eric Pham matchup, while the D’Evelyn 2 doubles team will play rival Colorado Academy in a rematch of what was an outstanding match the first time around. Toss in a Mullen vs GW 3 doubles match and there is exciting tennis in every round at every line in 4A. Outside of the 4 teams in the semifinals, look for Niwot, D’Evelyn, Mullen and Denver South to make plenty of noise in Pueblo as well.
While there are no more team points up for grabs at this year’s individual state title, you know the coaches and players will still be adding those imaginary points up to see where they all finish. But the final week is here, and here’s hoping that what comes next is even more entertaining than everything we’ve seen so far. Good luck to all the boys this weekend!
