WESTMINSTER — Greeley West beat Mountain Range boys tennis in a dual on Tuesday, 5-2.
Category: Boys Tennis
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Longtime Cherry Creek boys tennis coach Kirk Price to retire after the season
Cherry Creek boys tennis coach Kirk Price. (Cherry Creek boys tennis Facebook page) Kirk Price, coach of the hugely successful Cherry Creek boys tennis program, will retire after this season.
Cherry Creek athletic director Jason Wilkins confirmed Price’s decision on Wednesday.
“I’m sure he’ll still be around and offer input, but it’s one of those things where he’s been doing it so long that eventually you’re interested in doing something else,” Wilkins said.
Price, 68, started as an assistant and has been a coach 38 seasons, 24 as head coach. His teams won 22 state titles, including the past three since 2011. Among championships his teams has won are those in Class 6A, 5A and from when the sport was unclassified.
“It’s kind of ridiculous when you sit down and really think about it,” Wilkins said. “There’s a lot of parity now. There are 50-some 5A schools, and he pulls it off almost every year.”
As a no-cut program, Price’s teams typically have 140-160 kids taking part each year. It requires a lot of commitment.
“It’s a tremendous amount of time,” Wilkins said. “He was there at 8:30 this morning and he left at 6. He’s got kids playing challenge matches all day on all these different courts. And it’s not like he’s been doing it for one or two years; he’s been doing it for nearly 40.”
Price also coached swimming at Cherry Creek for 18 seasons, winning eight state championships and finishing runner-up five times, and was a math teacher at the school for 30 years.
“I’m sure a lot of people, when they come to Creek, are like, ‘Oh my god, there he is,’” Wilkins said. “Because he’s not a small person to begin with. And he’s not quiet. He has opinions. You know, he’s a coach. He’s not some guy sitting the corner not saying anything. He has a presence about him, as well, and obviously a reputation of years and years of success.
“When you really look at his resume, you’re probably going to be really hard-pressed to find someone that compares to him on the grand scale.”
Price was inducted into the Colorado High School Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame in 2004. Seven years later, he joined the National High School Athletic Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame. In addition, he’s served on national boards and rules committees.
“He’s a legend there,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Bethany Brookens, who oversees tennis.
Added CHSAA commissioner Paul Angelico, who administered tennis for 20 years: “The sport will miss him.”
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Castelino, Fairview boys tennis hoping to make 2014 their year
Fairview’s Ignatius Castelino. (Courtesy of Marc Pasquariello-Williams) By all accounts, Fairview’s boys tennis team had a state showing last fall that would make most programs envious.
The Knights sent each of their three singles players and four doubles teams to the Class 5A state tournament at Gates Tennis Center in Denver, pushing five through to the finals and having two more positions place third.
Still, Fairview couldn’t find a way to solve the Cherry Creek puzzle, finishing second to the Bruins for the third year in a row. Cherry Creek swept all seven individual state titles — the first time that has happened since 1998 — on its way to 98 points overall.
Even with Fairview returning five players this fall — including all three singles players — and the Bruins graduating their top two singles players, Knights coach Chad Tsuda understands that the advantage still belongs to Creek.
“Cherry Creek is still that dominant team,” Tsuda said. “I think that is what kind of fuels us. Every team Creek is going to put together is going to be the best, and that gives us a great sense of motivation.”
State experience is working in Fairview’s favor as the 2014 season approaches. Seniors Ignatius Castelino, Thomas Mason and Andrew Pollack have reached the finals in each of the previous three seasons. Junior Alec Leddon has been in one final, and sophomore Devin Harper placed third at No. 3 doubles last season.
“It’s exciting to have those top five guys coming back,” Tsuda said. “It’s pretty rare, usually it’s more spread out. It’s nice to have the kind of leadership of the singles players coming back.”
Leddon took third at No. 2 singles a year ago and Mason was runner-up at No. 3 singles. Pollack was runner-up at No. 2 doubles.
Fairview’s Ignatius Castelino. (Courtesy of Marc Pasquariello-Williams) Castelino is seeking his first championship, having fallen to a Cherry Creek opponent in each of the previous three seasons. The Bruins’ Zach Fryer pulled out a 6-4, 6-4 triumph last October.
“Every season I’m always excited to start. It’s always been fun,” Castelino said. “It’s my senior year but that doesn’t really change anything. I’m just going to still be looking to try and win again this year and help the team win.”
Castelino said he didn’t spend as much this summer traveling on the junior circuit as he has in past years, but his focus is razor-sharp headed into the fall season.
“If anything I’ll be more intense,” he said. “I’m more driven to try and do it this year.”
Tsuda said switching gears from the junior circuit to high school competition isn’t easy, but Castelino handles it well.
“For players that competitive, when the high school season comes around it totally changes attitude-wise where it becomes a team concept,” he said. “He gets to join a team of which he is a very big part, a leader where people look up to him.
“It’s a very unique experience to be on a high school team and we are a team — everyone plays hard for each other.”
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Class 5A boys tennis
Defending individual champions: Zach Fryer, Cherry Creek (No. 1 singles); Connor McPherson, Cherry Creek (No. 2 singles); Ethan Hillis, Cherry Creek (No. 3 singles); Harshil Dwivedi/Jake Miller, Cherry Creek (No. 1 doubles); Erin Norwood/Matt Gross, Cherry Creek (No. 2 doubles); Teller Hoskins/Ben Schlichting, Cherry Creek (No. 3 doubles); Jacob Bendalin/Wyatt Dale, Cherry Creek (No. 4 doubles).
Defending team champion: Cherry Creek
Returning All-State athletes: Jacob Bendalin, Soph., Cherry Creek; Ignatius Castelino, Sr., Fairview; Wyatt Dale, Soph., Cherry Creek; Harshil Dwivedi, Sr., Cherry Creek; Ethan Hillis, Soph., Cherry Creek; Teller Hoskins, Sr., Cherry Creek; Erin Norwood, Jr., Cherry Creek.
Regular Season begins: Aug. 14
Regionals: Completed by Oct. 4
State meet: Oct. 9-11 at Gates Tennis Center in Denver
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Kent Denver boys tennis loses No. 1 singles player, but expects to be deep
Kent Denver celebrates its 4A boys tennis championship last season. (Bethany Brookens/CHSAANow.com) Winning Class 4A state boys tennis championships is nothing new to Kent Denver.
The Sun Devils have won six boys state tennis titles in school history — all coming since 1999. The Sun Devils tied Cheyenne Mountain for the crown in 1999 and won it outright in 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2013.
Kent Denver will make a run at its seventh state crown this fall, but will have to do it without senior David Mitchell. Mitchell lost in the No. 1 singles finals to Discovery Canyon senior Luke Lorenz (7-5, 6-4) last season.
“My team is going to be good this year, but we are going to be a little bit weaker up top,” veteran Kent coach Randy Ross said. “David Mitchell, our No. 1 singles player, is not returning to Kent Denver. He’s staying down in (Bradenton) Florida at IMG Academy. We’re going to be a little bit weaker in the No. 1 position than we have been the last several years, but we are going to be deep.”
Mitchell was a three-time state finalist, winning at No. 1 singles as a freshman and taking second the past two seasons in the same bracket.
Junior Willie Gold (No. 2 singles), and sophomore Casey Ross (No. 3 singles), the coach’s son, won state a year ago, as did the doubles team of senior Andrew Thompson and junior Blake Parsons (No. 3 doubles).
Additionally, junior Kevin Adams (No. 1 doubles), and senior Jack Trueblood (No. 4 doubles) return after winning state in 2013 with their graduated partners. Sophomore Niko Hereford (No. 2 doubles) also was part of a state runner-up tandem last season.
“We’re going to solid, but Niwot is going to be good and Colorado Academy is going to be good and it’s going to be interesting,” coach Ross said.
A year ago, the Sun Devils ended up with 91 points, easily outdistancing Colorado Academy (54) and Niwot (50). Perennial power Cheyenne Mountain, which had won state three years in a row, placed fourth with 25 points.
“High school tennis is an awesome time of year for me,” Ross said. “I love high school tennis, it is so much fun. I love high school tennis in terms of what it brings to the game of tennis, the whole team element of it which is so different for these boys.
“They are playing individually all the rest of the year and they get this opportunity to play for a team. It’s a fast and furious nine-week season.”
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Class 4A boys tennis
Defending champion: Kent Denver
Runner-up: Colorado Academy
Returning All-State players: Peter Hillary, Colorado Academy, sr. (1st); Ethan Pollock, Colorado Academy, sr. (1st); Jack Trueblood, Kent Denver, sr. (1st); Kevin Adams, Kent Denver, jr. (1st); Willie Gold, jr., Kent Denver (1st); Casey Ross, Kent Denver, so. (1st)
Regular season begins: Aug. 14
Regionals: Completed by Oct. 4.
Championship: Oct. 9-11, Pueblo City Park Tennis Complex
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All-state boys tennis teams for 2013 season
The 2013 all-state boys tennis teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created based upon results at the state meet.
The athletes who won championships at their classification were named players of the year.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
Class 5A
Player of the year: Zach Fryer, Cherry Creek
First team Name School Jacob Bendalin Cherry Creek Ignatius Castelino Fairview Wyatt Dale Cherry Creek Harshil Dwivedi Cherry Creek Zach Fryer Cherry Creek Matt Gross Cherry Creek Ethan Hillis Cherry Creek Teller Hoskins Cherry Creek Connor McPherson Cherry Creek Jake Miller Cherry Creek Erin Norwood Cherry Creek Ben Schlichting Cherry Creek Class 4A
Player of the year: Luke Lorenz, Discovery Canyon
First team Name School Kevin Adams Kent Denver Ryan Beyer Kent Denver Daniel Dilzell Colorado Academy Willie Gold Kent Denver Peter Hillary Colorado Academy Luke Lorenz Discovery Canyon Seth Miller Colorado Academy David Mitchell Kent Denver Ethan Pollock Colorado Academy Casey Ross Kent Denver Brad Soderberg Kent Denver Jack Trueblood Kent Denver -
State tennis: Final results from 5A and 4A
The boys tennis state championships are in the books. Cherry Creek (5A) and Kent Denver (4A) took the team titles.
Chaparral (5A) and Mullen (4A) won the sportsmanship awards.
Full results:
Earlier results:
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Team Results
Class 5A Rank Team Points 1 Cherry Creek 98 2 Fairview 73 3 Mountain Vista 46 4 Regis Jesuit 22 5 Chatfield 20 6 Fossil Ridge 19 7 Grand Junction 13 8 Monarch 10 9 Denver East 8 10 Arapahoe 5 11 Legend 3 12 Boulder 2 13 Fruita Monument 2 14 Castle View 1 15 Chaparral 1 16 Cherokee Trail 1 17 Columbine 1 18 Legacy 1 19 Ralston Valley 1 20 Rock Canyon 1 Class 4A Rank Team Points 1 Kent Denver 91 2 Colorad Academy 54 3 Niwot 50 4 Cheyenne Mountain 25 5 Mullen 21 6 Air Academy 18 7 Aspen 17 8 Discovery Canyon 17 9 Pueblo Central 13 10 Broomfield 5 11 Valor Christian 4 12 Durango 4 13 Silver Creek 2 14 Steamboat 2 15 D’Evelyn 2 16 Fountain Valley 1 17 Greeley Central 1 18 Longmont 1 19 Palmer Ridge 1 Individual results
Class 5A
Singles
- Zach Fryer, Cherry Creek def. Ignatius Castelino, Fairview; 6-4, 6-4
- Connor McPherson, Cherry Creek def. Ben Antonsen, Mountain Vista; 6-1, 6-2
- Ethan Hillis, Cherry Creek def. Thomas Mason, Fairview; 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
- Harshil Dwivedi/Jake Miller, Cherry Creek def. Brock DeHaven/Max Petrak, Fairview; 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
- Erin Norwood/Matt Gross, Cherry Creek def. Randall Ball/Andrew Pollack, Fairview; 7-6, 6-3
- Teller Hoskins/Ben Schlichting, Cherry Creek def. Steven Bummer/Truett Davis, Regis Jesuit; 6-0, 6-3
- Jacob Bendalin/Wyatt Dale, Cherry Creek def. Charlie Strand/Jake Kearney, Fairview; 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
Class 4A
Singles
- Luke Lorenz, Discovery Canyon def. David Mitchell, Kent Denver; 7-5, 6-4
- Willie Gold, Kent Denver def. Allen Fu, Niwot; 6-3, 6-3
- Casey Ross, Kent Denver def. Naish Ganbatz, Air Academy; 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
- Kevin Adams/Ryan Beyer, Kent Denver def. Griffin Prall/William McDermid, Colorado Academy; 4-6, 6-2, 6-0
- Daniel Dilzell/Seth Miller, Colorado Academy def. Josh Rubin/Niko Hereford, Kent Denver; 6-4, 6-4
- Andrew Thompson/Blake Parsons, Kent Denver def. Peter Hillary/Ethan Pollock, Colorado Academy; 6-1, 6-4
- Brad Soderberg/Jack Trueblood, Kent Denver def. Keegan Mehall/Andy Vernier, Aspen; 6-3, 6-0
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Photo gallery: Boys tennis state championships
The 5A and 4A boys tennis state championships wrapped up on Saturday. Cherry Creek (5A) and Kent Denver (4A) captured team titles.
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Cherry Creek sweeps in rolling to 5A boys tennis championship
Cherry Creek players celebrate their team championship with the trophy. More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) DENVER — It was not a forgone conclusion when the day started. But by the time everyone was gathered around the East Center Court at Gates Tennis Center? Yeah, Cherry Creek’s domination was clear.
The Bruins set a Class 5A boys tennis record with 98 points and swept all seven positions en route to a third-consecutive team title. It is the school’s 38th championship in the sport over the past 41 seasons.
“It’s quite a run,” coach Art Quinn said afterward. “The boys did a great job.”
No 5A school had swept all seven positions since 1998. That school? Creek.
“We’re blessed with a large and dedicated student body,” Quinn said. “We’ve got a lot of players that put in a lot of time. We’ve got a wonderful program that supports us all the way down.
“We put in the work every day and the kids put in extra work every week. It really is an accumulation of years and years of blood, sweat and tears and hopes and dreams and chunking off lots of hours on the tennis court, in the classroom and in the training room.”
Cherry Creek’s Zach Fryer. More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) When the day started, Cherry Creek had 77 points to second-place Fairview’s 69. The Knights had a legitimate shot at their first-ever championship, but needed to dominate the five head-to-head matches with the Bruins they had on Saturday. Instead, Cherry Creek went 5-0 and 7-0 overall. (Full results.)
“We can’t exist without the players and the teams on the other side of the net,” Quinn said. “We can’t exist without the programs that help push us. It’s not up to your opponent to make you better, it’s up to you to make you better. But the relationship between you and your opponent is a valuable one. We’re all out here to make each other better.
“The fact of the matter is, going into today, this was a very close tournament,” Quinn said. “And (Fairview coach Chad) Tsuda and the players he had should be very proud of that.”
Included in Cherry Creek’s run was Zach Fryer’s individual title at No. 1 singles — the school’s first at the position since 2005. He beat Fairview’s Ignatius Castelino (6-4, 6-4) by holding serve after narrowly missing out on match point in the previous game.
“I’ve had to close out a few matches. Actually, that was exactly where I wanted to be: serving it out,” Fryer said. “I just did what I practiced before in closing out games.”
By constantly moving him side-to-side, Fryer was able to wear Castelino down late in the match, and rallied from down 2-1 in the second set to secure the win.
“It feels great,” Fryer said. “I love the atmosphere here, and then to just help the team, as well. It’s a lot different than playing USTA tournaments because (there) it’s all individual. Here you have your team behind you and supporting you, and you also want to win for your team, too, because you don’t want to let them down.”
Fairview finished second with 73 team points. Mountain Vista was third with 46.
Fairview’s Ignatius Castelino serves during the 5A No. 1 singles final. More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) -
Kent Denver lives up to expectations, wins 4A boys tennis crown
4A champion Kent Denver. More photos. (Bethany Brookens/CHSAANow.com) PUEBLO — This is a team Randy Ross couldn’t wait to unveil.
The veteran Kent Denver boys tennis coach had a feeling his 2013 Sun Devil squad could win a state title.
He was right.
Kent dominated the competition, clinching the Class 4A state crown on Friday, thanks to advancing all its players — No. 1 singles through No. 4 doubles — through to championship matches at the City Park Tennis Complex.
For good measure, Kent Denver won five of the seven championship brackets Saturday, which was a school record for individual state crowns at a state tournament.
“It was really a lot of fun,” said Ross, who just finished his 18th season coaching Kent Denver. “We knew this was going to be a strong time for Kent Denver tennis and we lived up to our expectations.”
This was Kent Denver’s sixth boys state tennis championship in school history. The Sun Devils tied Cheyenne Mountain for the crown in 1999 and won it outright in 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2009.
The Sun Devils ended up with 91 points, easily outdistancing Colorado Academy (54) and Niwot (50). Perennial power Cheyenne Mountain, which had won state three years in a row, placed fourth with 25 points.
“I’m really proud of the way my guys played,” Ross said. “We came in here and got the job done.”
Kent Denver’s latest state titles was powered by champions, sophomore Willie Gold (No. 2 singles), freshman Casey Ross (No. 3 singles), sophomore Kevin Adams/senior Ryan Beyer (No. 1 doubles), junior Andrew Thompson/sophomore Blake Parsons (No. 3 doubles) and senior Brad Soderberg/junior Jack Trueblood (No. 4 doubles).
“It was great that I was able to help our team win state,” said Casey Ross, the coach’s son. “I have been around the team my whole life (15 years) and I have always wanted to win a state championship.”
Casey now adds his state title to the two his brother Cory won in 1998 and 1999 at No. 1 singles while playing for Kent Denver. Cory was in attendance Saturday to see his younger brother’s victory.
“That was really special,” Casey said about his brother being there for his win.
Coach Ross admitted he could not have scripted things much better.
“The reason I started coaching in high school was to coach my sons and I have had that opportunity to do so at Kent Denver,” coach Ross said. “It is really cool to have both your sons win state titles, and also have the team win.”
The Sun Devils’ only losses came when junior David Mitchell (No. 1 singles), and senior Josh Rubin and freshman Niko Hereford (No. 2 doubles) were defeated.
The No. 1 singles finishers in 4A. More photos. (Bethany Brookens/CHSAANow.com) Mitchell, is a three-time state finalist, winning at No. 1 singles as a freshman and taking second the past two seasons in the same bracket.
Mitchell was outlasted by Discovery Canyon’s Luke Lorenz 7-5, 6-4 Saturday. Mitchell had a 2-0 season record against Lorenz prior to state.
“Luke played very, very well,” coach Ross said. “I have to hand it to him. He played great. Also, Colorado Academy also played well. We wanted to go 7-for-7, but give those other players credit.”
Colorado Academy’s Daniel Dilzell/Seth Miller edged Kent’s Rubin and Hereford, 6-1, 6-3.
Coach Ross wasn’t making any guarantees, but he knows the future of his program is very bright.
“We are only losing three seniors, and we have a lot of very good players coming back,” Ross said. “We also have some talented players who should be moving up to varsity next year.”
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State tennis: Day 2 results from 5A and 4A
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com) The boys tennis state championships continued on Friday. Below are results from the second day.
Day 2 results:
Team results will be updated following the completion of play each day.
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Team results
Class 5A Rank Team Points 1 Cherry Creek 77 2 Fairview 69 3 Mountain Vista 46 4 Regis Jesuit 20 5 Fossil Ridge 17 6 Chatfield 16 7 Grand Junction 13 T8 Denver East 8 T8 Monarch 8 10 Arapahoe 5 11 Legacy 3 T12 Boulder 2 T12 Fruita Monument 2 T12 Ralston Valley 2 T15 Castle View 1 T15 Chaparral 1 T15 Cherokee Trail 1 T15 Columbine 1 T15 Rock Canyon 1 Class 4A Rank Team Points 1 Kent Denver 77 2 Colorado Academy 49 3 Niwot 46 4 Cheyenne Mountain 25 5 Air Academy 18 6 Mullen 17 7 Aspen 15 8 Discovery Canyon 14 9 Pueblo Central 11 10 Broomfield 5 11 Valor Christian 4 12 Durango 3 T13 Silver Creek 2 T13 Steamboat 2 T13 D’Evelyn 2 T16 Fountain Valley 1 T16 Greeley Central 1 T16 Longmont 1 T16 Palmer Ridge 1 [divider]
Photos
Arapahoe turned in 55 rackets as part of the Rackets For All challenged. The rackets will go to underprivileged youths. (Diane Wolverton)