4A Boys Tennis: Finals Matches Fully Set For Saturday

PUEBLO – The semifinals of the 4A Boys Tennis Individual State Championships were completed Friday at Pueblo City Park. The finals are set for Saturday, with play beginning at 9 a.m.

Colorado Academy advanced six different positions to the finals — the most of any 4A or 5A team. On their heels, was Kent Denver, who advanced four positions to the finals. Cheyenne Mountain, D’Evelyn, Denver South and Vail Christian each advanced one position each to the state championship round.

In 1 singles, D’Evelyn’s Aswaanth Karuppasamy defeated Kent Denver’s Will Moldenhauer (6-2, 6-2) to advance to the finals, where he’ll face Denver South’s Raphael Wieland, who advanced after beating Coronado’s Miles Hoover by a slim margin (3-6, 6-3, 6-4).

In the 1 singles playback bracket, Discovery Canyon’s Sean Bratkowsky barely snuck by Severance’s Joel Carter (7-6, 7-5) and then cruised by Kent Denver’s Will Moldenhauer (6-2, 6-1) on his route to the third-place match. Coronado’s Miles Hoover also reached the third-place match, but not until after facing a three-set thriller against Cheyenne Mountain’s Andrew Ballenger (6-3, 2-6, 6-3)

In 2 singles, Vail Christian’s Daniel Blanch swept Kent Denver’s Max Gart in the semifinals (6-3, 6-4). As a result, Blanch will face Colorado Academy’s Jackson Wells, who bested D’Evelyn’s Eric Pham in straight sets (6-2, 6-4), on his end of the bracket.

In the 2 singles playback bracket, Coronado’s Thomas Stewart bounced back from his Thursday quarterfinals loss to defeat both Evergreen’s Jacob Gumucio and Kent Denver’s Gart, on his path to earning a spot in the third-place match. Stewart will battle Denver South’s Max Morales, who reached the third-place match after sweeping Mullen’s Nick Ruegsegger (6-1, 6-1) and squeaking by D’Evelyn’s Pham (4-6, 6-4, 7-5).

In 3 singles, Colorado Academy’s Jackson Gilliland beat Niwot’s Charlie Kirtland in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) to advance to the finals. Gilliland will face Cheyenne Mountain’s Jake Schultz, who advanced to the finals by defeating D’Evelyn’s Xalen Mitchell after dropping the first set (3-6, 6-4, 6-4).

In the 3 singles playback bracket, Niwot’s Charlie Kirtland swept Evergreen’s Shepherd Maren (6-2, 6-2) to earn his place in the third-place match. There, Kirtland will square off with Kent Denver’s Sebastian Boada, who reached the finals by defeating Thomas Jefferson’s Griffin Steimel (6-2, 6-2) and D’Evelyn’s Xalen Mitchell (4-6, 6-1, 6-4).

The 1 doubles team of Tyler Haymons and Jack Cramer from Kent Denver will be joined by Colorado Academy’s Clayton Johnson and Michael McKee in the finals. Haymons and Cramer made it to the finals thanks to cruising past Niwot’s Kyle Davidson and Sebastian Moy (6-0, 6-1). Johnson and McKee also boasted a strong semifinal performance, defeating Denver South’s Udo Zeile and Kelly Goodwillie (6-1, 6-0).

In the 1 doubles playback bracket, Niwot’s Kyle Davidson and Sebastian Moy and Denver South’s Udo Zeile and Kelly Goodwillie will now get to spar for third place, after Davidson and Moy swept Longmont’s Owen Jones and Jack Kujawa (6-3, 6-3) and Zeile and Goodwillie squeaked by Mullen’s Luke DeNezza and Jagger Hanley (6-7, 6-3, 7-6).

In 2 doubles, Andrew Morgan and Zach Morgan from Kent Denver will take on Colorado Academy’s Luca Siringo and Jackson Turner in the championship round. Morgan and Morgan cleared Patrick Barker and Shane Walsh from Cheyenne Mountain in straight sets (6-3, 6-1), while Siringo and Turner beat Evergreen’s Charlie Barwell and Patton Truchel in three sets (6-4, 1-6, 6-3).

In the 2 doubles playback bracket, Cheyenne Mountain’s Patrick Barker and Shane Walsh beat Thomas Jefferson’s Gabe Robert and Grant Randles to advance to the third-place match, where they’ll face Evergreen’s Charlie Barwell and Patton Truchel, after Barwell and Truchel won their playback match with Coronado’s Seth Enoch and Michael Wojalewicz (6-3, 5-7, 6-2).

In 3 doubles, Kent Denver’s Colton Maass and Simon Hirsch defeated Denver South’s Nate Posthumus and Evan Cahill (6-1, 6-2) to advance to the finals, where they will face Colorado Academy’s Oliver Neely and Charlie Rakowski. Neely and Rakowski reached the finals by beating Evergreen’s Jacob Mays and Colin Meany (6-2, 6-3).

In the 3 doubles playback bracket, Denver South’s Nate Posthumus and Evan Cahill blew by Coronado’s Eli Bole and Landon Houger (6-2, 6-2) to reach the third-place match. Competing for third-place honors will be D’Evelyn’s Henry Rumph and Simon Czarnecki, who recovered from a quarterfinals loss on Thursday to beat both George Washington’s Henry Batchelder and Tali Caplin (6-3, 6-4) and Evergreen’s Mays and Meany (6-3, 6-3).

In 4 doubles, Kent Denver’s Liam O’Drobinak and Cole Fenton have advanced to face Colorado Academy’s Thomas Rollhaus and Craig Stapleton in the finals, after defeating Mullen’s Casey Reinert and Brady Simms (7-5, 6-3). Rollhaus and Stapleton reached the championship round by beating Denver South’s Noah Agay and Torin Wright (6-1, 6-4).

In the 4 doubles playback bracket, Denver South’s Noah Agay and Torin Wright punched their ticket to the third-place match with a sweep of Coronado’s Cary Kraemer and Stellan Rodgers (7-5, 6-2). They’ll face Thomas Jefferson’s Wyatt Tyler and Charlie Van Abbema, who defeated D’Evelyn’s Anthony Czarnecki and Francis Lis (6-2, 6-4) and Mullen’s Casey Reinert and Brady Simms (6-1, 4-6, 6-2) to reach the third-place match.