A database of qualifiers to the 2017 boys tennis state tournaments, sortable by class, position and region.
Results are updated as they are entered from site directors at each regional.
The state tennis draws and brackets will be available next week.
[caspio]http://b6.caspio.com/dp.asp?AppKey=d2f23000c31444047cee48869c1a[/caspio]
DENVER — The Class 4A Region 1 boys tennis tournament kicked off on Wednesday.
[divider]
[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”838″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_pro_mosaic” row_height=”180″ margins=”5″ last_row=”justify” lazy_load_enable=”1″ lazy_load_initial=”35″ lazy_load_batch=”15″ display_type_view=”default” ngg_proofing_display=”0″ captions_enabled=”1″ captions_display_sharing=”0″ captions_display_title=”0″ captions_display_description=”1″ captions_animation=”slideup” is_ecommerce_enabled=”1″ order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”10000″]
GOLDEN — Brandon Idler won the No. 1 singles match in three sets to help pace Golden boys tennis to a 5-2 win over Arvada West.
[divider]
[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”825″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_pro_mosaic” row_height=”180″ margins=”5″ last_row=”justify” lazy_load_enable=”1″ lazy_load_initial=”35″ lazy_load_batch=”15″ display_type_view=”default” ngg_proofing_display=”0″ captions_enabled=”1″ captions_display_sharing=”0″ captions_display_title=”0″ captions_display_description=”1″ captions_animation=”slideup” is_ecommerce_enabled=”1″ order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”10000″]
Below is a list of boys tennis’ regional schedules for the 2017 season.
[divider]
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
Region 4
Region 5
Region 6
Region 7
Region 8
[divider]
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
Region 4
Region 5
Region 6
Region 7
Region 8
GOLDEN — Golden boys tennis beat Green Mountain handily on Wednesday.
[divider]
[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”804″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_pro_mosaic” row_height=”180″ margins=”5″ last_row=”justify” lazy_load_enable=”1″ lazy_load_initial=”35″ lazy_load_batch=”15″ display_type_view=”default” ngg_proofing_display=”0″ captions_enabled=”1″ captions_display_sharing=”0″ captions_display_title=”0″ captions_display_description=”1″ captions_animation=”slideup” is_ecommerce_enabled=”1″ order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”10000″]
When the Class 4A state tournament draw is released in early October, the No. 1 singles bracket will be missing a familiar name.
After claiming back-to-back state championships for Kent Denver, Casey Ross graduated. That’s good news for the rest of the 4A classification, if only because Ross – who won three state titles overall and was a runner-up as a sophomore – was a big hurdle to clear.
“I think players have a lot of respect for Casey, and from what I could see, he deserved it,” Peak to Peak coach Eric Farran said. “I think realistically it’s much more open this year. I think there’s a lot of talent in that draw; with Casey gone, it’s absolutely much more open.”
Half of the 16 state qualifiers at No. 1 singles graduated, including Ross. Four of the remaining eight were sophomores a year ago, and two of those reached the semifinals at the position.
Peak to Peak’s Brett Finan advanced to the finals before falling 6-4, 6-0 to Ross. Discovery Canyon’s Nick Lorenz, a 2015 finalist as a freshman, lost to Ross in the semifinals.
“Obviously Casey is a really good player,” Finan said. “I was not too disappointed that I lost to him, but I was happy with my performance.”
Finan, Lorenz and Colorado Academy’s Richter Jordaan are among a wave of juniors who are expected to contend for the title this fall. Jordaan was the runner-up at No. 2 singles as a freshman and placed third at No. 1 singles as a sophomore.
“I think this is going to be one of the most competitive 4A tournaments we’ve ever had. There are about five or six really good teams that have a lot of returners from last year, and all of them have good singles players,” said Colorado Academy coach Brian Singer, whose team finished second in 2016 behind now four-time defending champion Kent Denver.
“That No. 1 position is going to be very heated as far as everybody competing for that championship at the end of the season. I think it’s going to be a fun year in tennis, especially for the spectators, who are going to get a treat this year.”
Finan spent part of his summer training in Florida, and competed in a number of tournaments. He’s known competitors like Lorenz and Jordaan for years, and understands that the fight for the top spot in the state won’t be an easy one.
“I grew up playing with them since I was like 10, so I know them well,” he said. “When it comes to playing a match, you put your friendship aside and nothing else matters but the match. But afterward, no matter what happened in the match, you’re still going to be friends.”
Peak to Peak qualified three of its seven positions to state last fall, with Teo Cariov winning his first match at No. 2 singles as a sophomore. The Pumas graduated four seniors.
Kent Denver won six of the seven individual titles in 2016 on its way to a fourth-consecutive team championship. The Sun Devils edged Colorado Academy in three finals, including a No. 2 singles crown from junior Jack Moldenhauer.
The Mustangs graduated only two seniors, and return Jordaan, Quinn Bermingham and Jordan Wagner at the singles positions. Colorado Academy qualified its entire team to state despite having graduated eight seniors from the previous season.
Singer believes he has a good team once again, but acknowledged that Kent Denver is the favorite until another team can take it away from them.
“We would like to become the man, but the only way you become the man is you’ve got to beat the man on top right now. Kent is that team,” Singer said. “Until someone steps up and dethrones them, they own the title right now.”
Cherry Creek captured its sixth consecutive 5A championship last fall and 42nd overall, holding off second-place Fairview by 21 points.
The Bruins won titles at No. 1 and No. 2 singles and No. 3 and No. 4 doubles. Cherry Creek loses singles champions Ethan Hillis and Robby Hill to graduation, but returns its title-winning contingent in doubles.
Fossil Ridge’s Akhil Gupta won the No. 3 singles crown as a freshman, and Regis Jesuit’s Evan Nuss and Emilio Gonzalez-Cruz won the No. 2 doubles title as sophomores.
Overland’s Dawid Kijak was the runner-up to Hillis at No. 1 singles as a junior.
[divider]
Important dates:
State Tournaments:
Defending state champions:
Returning all-state players:
The 2016 all-state boys tennis teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created based upon results at the state tournament.
The athletes who won championships at their classification were named players of the year.
[divider]
Player of the year: Ethan Hillis, Cherry Creek
Coach of the year: Art Quinn, Cherry Creek
| First team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Year | School |
| Nick Eidler | Junior | Cherry Creek |
| Emilio Gonzalez-Cruz | Sophomore | Regis Jesuit |
| Akhil Gupta | Freshman | Fossil Ridge |
| Devin Harper | Senior | Fairview |
| Stone Heyman | Junior | Cherry Creek |
| Robby Hill | Senior | Cherry Creek |
| Ethan Hillis | Senior | Cherry Creek |
| Dawid Kijak | Junior | Overland |
| Evan Nuss | Sophomore | Regis Jesuit |
| Zach Smith | Junior | Cherry Creek |
| Nick Svichar | Junior | Cherry Creek |
| David Zhao | Senior | Fairview |
[divider]
Player of the year: Casey Ross, Kent Denver
Coach of the year: Randy Ross, Kent Denver
| First team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Year | School |
| Jack Cuntz | Senior | Evergreen |
| Brett Finan | Sophomore | Peak to Peak |
| Coby Gold | Senior | Kent Denver |
| Oliver Greenwald | Junior | Kent Denver |
| Niko Hereford | Senior | Kent Denver |
| Blake Kuzava | Senior | Evergreen |
| Jack Moldenhauer | Junior | Kent Denver |
| Sam Nassif | Junior | Kent Denver |
| Casey Ross | Senior | Kent Denver |
| Nick Savignano | Senior | Kent Denver |
| Laird Stewart | Junior | Kent Denver |
| Alex Wimer | Junior | Kent Denver |
DENVER — Ethan Hillis said he took care of business. And he certainly had some unfinished business from years ago to attend to.
After finishing as a state runner-up his sophomore season and taking last year off tennis as a junior, Hillis came back for his senior year to finish off an undefeated campaign with a Class 5A No. 1 singles state title.
“It feels good, and since I didn’t play last year and had that unfortunate ending two years ago, it makes it feel that much better,” Hillis said.
Hillis defeated Overland junior Dawid Kijak in straight sets in a 40-minute match to seal the individual title in the 2016 boys tennis state tournament at Gates Tennis Center on Saturday.
Kijak had upset Fairview junior Tom Melville in a third-set tiebreaker in the quarterfinal round and powered past Heritage junior Skylar Gates in three sets to advance to the final.
“I know he had a few tough matches earlier in the week, so I think fatigue might have played a part in how he played today,” Hillis said.
Overland assistant and singles coach Woodie Smith thinks it was a matter of maturity and mental toughness for Kijak, who finished the season 16-3. He said Dawid needs to mature so the little things do not affect him.
“What happens is some players can’t let things go, and it carries with them and then they start hitting balls as hard as they can or try serving it a little bit harder than normal and they make mistakes,” Smith said.
He added: “We compare Dawid to Gaël Monfils, a French professional tennis player. Monfils is a very talented player who has never won a major championship because he allows his emotions to get to him, and as soon as his emotions get to him, he becomes a trick artist. And he’s a professional player, but it’s immaturity, and that’s why he can’t win the big, big matches.”
Hillis was dominant in his quick 6-0, 6-1 sweep of his opponent. The combination of heavy top spin, shot depth, ball placement and emotional and mental toughness burned Kijak repeatedly.
“I came out there with a lot of confidence and felt good,” Hillis said.
Hillis, who also won a 5A No. 3 singles title as a freshman in 2013, will play collegiate tennis at Amherst University, a very strong Division III program in Massachusetts.
Usually the No. 1 singles final is the last match being played, and everyone descends upon that court to watch the grand finale. But on this rare occasion, the 2016 final was the first match completed of the day.
The No. 2 singles final match between Cherry Creek senior Robby Hill and Denver East junior Charlie Franks instead served as the most hype match of the last day of the tournament, lasting about three and a half hours.
Hill prevailed, taking down Franks in three sets; the first was an epic tiebreaker that went up to 12 points, 6-7 (12), which Franks won. But Hill closed out the second two sets 7-5 and 6-4 for the No. 2 singles title — his first individual championship.
“I just kept telling myself to fight and I could do it. One point at a time, you can do this, fight, stay positive,” Hill said. “And I think that’s what helped me get through it.”
He added: “I was zoned in like a laser. So focused and the crowd didn’t bother me. All my friends were out there and it was really nice.”
But Hill said the bigger picture is the Bruins’ team title, which was threatened on the second day by a team race between the Bruins, Denver East, Regis Jesuit and Fairview.
“This is the first time I’ve been here that we haven’t clinched on the second day, and that’s really added pressure in the finals. The pressure is definitely there, and you feel it a lot,” Hill said.
Cherry Creek claimed its sixth straight team title — its 21st title of the last 23 tournaments — and sealed it with a No. 1 doubles playback victory from duo Jacob Bendalin and Ben Murray.
Murray and Bendalin beat the Denver East duo of Tyrone Braxton and Eric Dallavalle 6-4, 6-2 for a third place finish.
Junior Zach Smith and freshman Nick Svichara also won a state championship in No. 4 doubles with a 6-2, 7-6 (3) win over Regis Jesuit’s James O’Connor and Matthew Mahoney.
Longtime Bruins tennis coach Gary Harris also retired at the end of this season. Harris has been an assistant Cherry Creek tennis for 17 years, and saw much success with the program and from his son, Chad Harris, who is arguably the most dominant singles player to go through the program in the last 20 years.
He was the first to accept the state trophy for the Bruins, and he also got the water cooler dumped on him as well — a fitting ending for a key part of the Bruins’ program.
“I had a sole purpose of being around Creek for 17 years and that was to make the program run smooth,” Harris said. “My primary emphasis has been helping the varsity coach; regionals and state coaching, running the JV program, everything to make the program run smoothly, and all things I did revolved around that.”
He added: “It’s a fraternity of players in tennis and that’s one of the reasons I stuck around. I like being associated with that.”
The Bruins placed first with 81 total points. Fairview finished as the state runner-up with 60. Denver East came in third with 59.
PUEBLO — Winning state tennis championships in Pueblo has become something of a Ross family tradition.
Ever since Kent Denver senior Casey Ross was strong enough to hold a racket, he had been running around Pueblo City Park striking anything that resembled a ball. His older brother Cory was on a nearby court, coming away with Class 4A No. 1 singles titles in 1998 and 1999.
Saturday, Ross matched his brother’s back-to-back feat with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Peak to Peak’s Brett Finan. Kent Denver also won the 4A tennis tournament as a team.
And in a reversal of roles, it was Cory hanging off to the side.
“It makes it so much more special to be able to follow in his footsteps,” Casey said. “Being able to do what he did here, and he came down to watch me which just made it even more special.”
Little brother does have one distinct edge, though. Kent Denver came away with its fourth-straight team title. In Cory’s entire time at Kent Denver he only won a split of a team title in 1999, his senior year.
But still, the brothers shared an embrace and they now share a place in Colorado state tennis history.
When Sun Devils coach Randy Ross could, he was checking in on his youngest son while sprinting from match to match, trying to help out the other members of the team just as he would Corey or Casey, back in the day.
“I think he uses that to get more into it,” Casey said. “When all the matches are going on, he wants to see everything going on at once. He’s just all over the place.”
And he had a lot to see.
The Sun Devils were playing in six of seven championship matches. And when the dust had settled, they came away six individual championships and, of course, the overall team title.
“This is the first time (in school history) for four in a row, so that was pretty cool,” Randy said. “This group of boys, they worked hard and they deserved it so I was happy for them.”
Even coming away with a loss to Ross, Finan – a sophomore – will get at least two more chances at glory. Knowing the deck was stacked against him coming into the final, he just wanted to put his best foot forward.
“I just wanted to win as many games as possible,” Finan said. “I like playing players that are better than me. I have nothing to lose.”
This year’s 4A sportsmanship award went to Valor Christian.
With the teams departing from Pueblo City Park, there was a feeling of a chapter of Kent Denver’s fine tennis legacy coming to a glory-filled end.
For the second time of his life, Randy Ross got to congratulate his son on winning a championship in the last match of his high school career.
“This is his 18th state championship,” Randy said. “He’s been here every year since he was born. So he knows this, he loves this, we love it together.”
In the fall, Casey will pack up his stuff and head to Dartmouth where he will compete on the tennis team. That is another way that he differs from his brother. Cory played his college tennis at LSU.
Big brother went SEC and little brother went Ivy League.
But they both earned their merits on the same court. And they both left the gates at Pueblo City Park with championship gold.