5A Boys Tennis: First Round and Quarterfinals In The Books

DENVER – The first two rounds of the 5A Boys Tennis Individual State Championships were completed Thursday at Denver City Park. The semifinal round will be played tomorrow with the finals set for Saturday. Play will begin at 9 a.m. on both days.

Regis Jesuit led the way on the day one, advancing players in all seven positions, though Valor Christian was right on their heels, advancing players in every positoin but 1 singles, where Valor ran into Regis in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Cherry Creek and Fossil Ridge also had strong days, advancing five players and three players, respectively. Fairview and Chaparral both advanced two players to the semifinals round, while Broomfield, Grandview and Denver East will each have one player competing in the semifinals.

In 1 singles, Denver East’s Trevor Hajek snuck by Cherry Creek’s Charlie Stern (3-6, 6-2, 7-5) and Fossil Ridge’s Tyle Van Tassel (7-6, 6-4) to advance to the semifinals, where he’ll face Broomfield’s Kai Trujillo. Trujillo defeated Fort Collins’ Jake Bronson, (6-3, 6-3) and Ponderosa’s Matthew Hossack (6-1, 6-1).

In the other half of the 1 singles bracket, Grandview’s Justin Son and Regis Jesuit’s William Dickey advanced. Son opened the day with a win over Pine Creek’s Gurman Goraya (6-0, 6-3) and then defeated Arapahoe’s Cale Brush (6-1, 5-7, 6-4), while Dickey used a win over Fairview’s Caden Bell (6-1, 6-4) to advance to the quarterfinals, where he narrowly beat Valor Christian’s Graham Beukelman (7-5, 2-6, 7-5).

In 2 singles, Valor Christian’s Jace Nakamura advanced to the semifinals after wins in straight sets against Castle View’s Jason Smith (6-1, 6-1) and Boulder’s Jackson Lewis (7-6, 6-3). He’ll face Fossil Ridge’s Nate Walton, who triumphed over Arapahoe’s Carson David, by a score of 6-1, 6-4, and Fairview’s Adhrit Sundaresan, despite being swept in the first set (0-6, 6-4, 6-2).

The other 2 singles semifinal will feature Chaparral’s Nick Moreno and Regis Jesuit’s Alec Rodriguez-Fields. Moreno reached the semifinal after a beating Cherokee Trail’s Swagat Behera (7-6, 7-5) and Cherry Creek’s Jake Loehr (5-7, 6-5, 7-5), in two of the closest matches of the day. Meanwhile, Rodriguez-Fields advanced to the semifinals by beating Rocky Mountain’s Baily Livengood (6-3, 6-3) and Ralston Valley’s Brady Swartz in the quarterfinals, where Rodriguez-Fields won every game, 6-0, 6-0.

In the 3 singles semifinals, Valor Christian’s Nathaniel Trevey will meet Fairview’s Ben Mei Dan. Trevey snuck by Legacy’s Rufus Thompson (6-4, 6-3) and cruised past Rocky Mountain’s Peter Rademacher (6-2, 6-1). Meanwhile Mei Dan beat Chatfield’s Nick Lathrop (6-3, 6-4) and nabbed their spot in the finals by beating Fossil Ridge’s Alex Van Thuyne (6-7, 6-3, 7-5).

The opposite side of the 3 singles semifinals boasts a matchup between Regis Jesuit’s Vlad Sukhovetskyy and Cherry Creek’s Trevor Robinson. Sukhovetskyy advanced to the semifinals thanks to victories over Arapahoe’s Brett Sweeney (6-2, 3-6, 6-1), and Ponderosa’s Peyton Donahue (6-0, 6-0). Robinson reached the semifinals after defeating Denver East’s William Rohnstock (6-3, 6-2) and Chaparral’s Griffin Mayoss (7-6, 6-2).

In 1 doubles, Regis Jesuit’s Agustin Azcui and Brady Jenkins earned a spot in the semifinals, where they will face off with Fairview’s Noah Bodner and Cecil Carroll. On the other half of the bracket, Valor Christian’s Ryan Greenfield and Ryan Mandes are set to square off with Cherry Creek’s Kris Kostadinov and Matthew Hu in the semifinals.

In 2 doubles, Cherry Creek’s Trey Zurcher and Agastya Gupta will meet Valor Christian’s Harrison Wentworth and Drew Summers in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Regis Jesuit’s KC Eckenhausen and Carl Siegel will play against Chaparral’s Rishith Jujare and Luis Acosta, on their side of the bracket.

In 3 doubles, Cherry Creek’s Colin Brown and Tyson Hardy reached the semifinals, where they’ll face Fossil Ridge’s Jace Fitzpatrick and Gavin Payne for a spot in the finals. Their championship opponent will be the winner of the semifinals matchup between Regis Jesuit’s Adam Rydel and Kevin Solichien and Valor Christian’s Asa Thurstone and Jack Moehler.

In 4 doubles, Cherry Creek’s Wills Possehl and Adam Eikelberner is set to play Fossil Ridge’s Davis Samuelson and Phillipe Sampaio in the semifinals. On the other half of the bracket, Regis Jesuit’s Tyler Ryan and Bennett Cherveny will face Valor Christian’s James Van Winkle and Aidan Case with a trip to the finals on the line.