DENVER – With just one match left in his fourth and final high school tennis season, Conor Kaczmarczyk has a chance to accomplish something unique on Saturday.
The Regis Jesuit senior won his semifinals match, 6-2, 6-0, over Monarch’s Connor Smith at No. 1 singles on Friday morning at Gates Tennis Center. The victory advanced Kaczmarczyk into Saturday’s top singles championship match.
Already with No. 2 and No. 3 singles titles on his resume from his junior and freshman seasons, Kaczmarczyk will now be playing for the singles trifecta when he takes the court for the final time in high school.
“I’m going for the final one,” Kaczmarczyk said. “It’s been weird because there’s been a lot of pressure on me because I won two singles and everyone coming back this year were people I’ve beaten, so it’s felt like I came in as the favorite. I just try to not worry about what other people think and go out there and play my game. If I just do what I normally do, I should be fine.”
With something extra special on the line, Kaczmarczyk’s third state title is far from ensured, as he will be facing a tough opponent in Cherry Creek junior Aram Izmirian in the finals at 9 a.m. Kaczmarcyk has beaten Izmirian twice already this season. One was one-sided but in the other, Kaczmarczyk escaped with a narrow 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 victory.
“He’s a really good player and I’ve known him for a couple years,” Kaczmarczyk said. “It’s going to be a good time but I’m definitely going to have a tough match tomorrow.”
To reach the finals, Izmirian had to gut out a 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 win over Valor Christian’s Christian Trevey, who Kaczmarczyk defeated in the No. 2 singles semifinals in 2020. It was a big win in a head-to-head matchup between teams that entered Day 2 in a tie for the team scoring lead.
“It was just a crazy mental battle. I had to overcome so much,” Izmirian said. “Three match points, being down 3-5, and 3-0 in the second set. It was tough, really tough. I’m a little tired but I’ll rest up and be ready because it means so much to be playing for a state title, especially at one singles.
“There’s a lot of pressure. But I love it.”
Kaczmarczyk and Izmirian will face one another when all finals and third-place matches begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday.