DENVER – For the first time since the Colorado High School Activities Association switched to the dual-style format for tennis team titles in 2022, there is a new boys tennis champion.
On Tuesday at Denver Tennis Park, No. 1 Regis Jesuit won 4-2 over No. 2 Cherry Creek to claim its first title since 2019. The Raiders are now tied for sixth all-time with six boys tennis team titles.
“It’s huge for us,” Regis Jesuit head coach Laura Jones said. “Back four years ago, I was a huge proponent of this format. I know they do it in a lot of other states and I was excited that we were bringing this to Colorado. It feels really good to win one.”
At No. 1 singles, Regis Jesuit’s Alec Rodriguez-Fields won 6-2, 6-2 against Cherry Creek’s Aidan Washer. In the No. 2 singles match, the clinching match for the Raiders, Regis Jesuit’s Clay Dickey won 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 over Jack Loehr. Regis Jesuit also won the No. 3 singles match with Adam Rydel defeating Devan Shah, 6-2, 6-5.
At No. 1 doubles, the Regis Jesuit duo of Will Larkin and Koops Lord won 6-3, 6-4 against Sam Migliaccio and Tyson Hardy. In the No. 2 doubles match, Cherry Creek’s Adam Eikelberner and Kapil Bhandaram won 6-2, 6-4 against Edward Samuelson and Reis Cherveny.
Cherry Creek also won the No. 4 doubles match, as Ryan Raleigh and Sunand Bhandaram won 7-5, 6-3 against Conner Hickey and Daniel Hickey. The No. 3 doubles match was not completed because the match was decided before it came to a result.
“We played well,” Jones said. “We worked hard all year. We added a bunch of new kids to our team. We had four returners, so that leaves us with seven new varsity players this year. From the get-go, we went to work. We had the goal of being here and we made it here, and we knew after Saturday’s performance that we were in a good position to take home the trophy.
“But when you get here, it’s a level playing field. We’ve seen Creek now four times in different tournaments this year. We knew who they were, they knew who we were, but this format is very unpredictable, so we had to be on our game.”
Regis Jesuit swept No. 5 Fossil Ridge in the semifinals, while Cherry Creek advanced to the championship defeating No. 3 Valor Christian, 6-1, in the semifinals.
This marks the fourth year of the Boys Tennis Dual Team State Championships, as the tournament structure changed for the 2022 season. Previously, team points were calculated at the Boys Tennis Individual State Championships to determine the team state champion. Prior to Tuesday, Cherry Creek had won all three 5A dual team titles to stretch its win streak to five-straight team titles and a state record 47 state championships in boys tennis. In 2022, the Bruins knocked off Valor Christian, 5-2, and then defeated Regis Jesuit, 4-1, in 2023 and 4-3 in 2024.
The Bruins still lead the state record books with an all-time best 47 boys tennis state titles.