Category: Boys Tennis

When Caroline and Richter Jordaan were asked how many strokes Richter needed to be competitive against Caroline on the golf course, they came up with a very similar answer.

Richter needs about four or five shots. Per hole.

Not four or five shots per side?

“I’d say four shots a hole,” Caroline said. “He hasn’t played in a few years.”

Since he was nine-years-old, specifically.

Still an athlete, Richter plays at a high level when it comes to the Mustangs boys tennis team. He’s finished third in the No. 1 singles bracket the last two years. He finished second in No. 2 singles as a freshman.

Growing up, he just decided that tennis was the way to go for him, just as golf was the way for Caroline to go.

“We played on the soccer team when we were little, and we played golf and tennis together,” Richter said. “I ended up being better at tennis and I just started playing more and she was the same way with golf. Eventually we just ended up sticking with those sports.”

And they got better the older they got. So putting a more realistic number out there, could Richter compete with Caroline with just one shot a hole, so 36 in a given round?

“I doubt it,” he said.

His strength is on the tennis court which is also where Caroline fell off. If the tables were turned and they were playing tennis, it would be Richter having to spot Caroline some sets.

“Everything,” she says firmly.

For these twins siblings, the 2018-19 athletic season is the last chance for both of them to capture something that has been elusive for the last three years. They’re competitors and they want to win. And just win occasionally.

They want to be the best.

Caroline — and their younger sister, Marie — have experienced the thrill of winning a team state championship for Colorado Academy. But Caroline has yet to capture an individual title.

He took second in 2016 and 2018 and tied for third in 2017.

Richter has run into two buzzsaws in the No. 1 singles tennis brackets. In 2016 he suffered a quarterfinal loss to Kent Denver’s Casey Ross who went on to claim the state title. He advanced to the semis a year ago and fell to Peak to Peak’s Brett Finan, another eventual state champion.

With 2018 being his last chance, he wants to get back to Pueblo City Park and make a run at a Class 4A championship, not just for himself but for his entire team.

“I would definitely want to win state individually and as a team,” he said. “I learned from playing against Bret that I need a stronger first serve. I also need to be more aggressive from the baseline. He was definitely more aggressive than I was on the big points. I’ve been working to improve that part of my game and I’m hoping that I can show that strength this year at state.”

Still months away from the start of golf season, his sister shares the same feeling. Every time she takes the course for the Mustangs, she aims to perform at her best knowing that her success creates a better chance for a team title. In this aspect, the sibling are truly on the same page.

“I don’t know what his approach is, but I do know that he wants to win both all the time,” Caroline said. “I’m the same way, but in my freshman year, it wasn’t too difficult for our team to win state, so I was more focused on the individual title.”

It would be a fitting stamp to put on the end of their high school careers in their respective sports. It’s fairly common to see siblings take on the same challenges as Marie and Caroline have. The twins decided to take a divide and conquer approach.

“We’ve kind of made the Jordaan name significant in these sports, which is really cool especially since it’s not all in the same thing,” Caroline said. “We’re covering multiple sports. Growing up, it was really fun because we’re all competitive and we always had someone we can try to beat.”