PUEBLO – The battle for the 2021 4A boys tennis state championship has become a two-horse race after day two of competition at the Pueblo City Park Tennis Complex, and it is two teams that no one should be surprised by.
Kent Denver and Cheyenne Mountain.
The two teams, who have combined to win 27 of the 29 4A state championships all-time, will dual it out tomorrow to see who will win the next one. Kent Denver will enter the day in the lead with 51 points, while Cheyenne Mountain trails by just five points.
Both teams have 14 potential points on the table on day three, which means Cheyenne Mountain will have some rooting interest for other teams throughout the matches. There will be, however, two crucial direct matchups between the two schools, at No. 1 Doubles and No. 3 Doubles, both in the championship match.
For Kent Denver head coach Randy Ross, who met his intermediate goal of having six of seven positions playing on the final day, his focus remains on the team’s mindset, and not the ultimate goal.
“We try not talking about the outcome, we try not talking about winning the state championship,” Ross stated. “We just try to talk about performing well.”
Kent Denver freshman Nathan Gold is certainly one of those players who is performing well, as he has blitzed through his competition to reach the No. 1 singles finals, where he will face fellow underclassman, D’Evelyn sophomore Aswaanth Karuppasamy.
Ross, who has essentially known Gold since the day he was born, has been looking forward to this day for a long time.
“This is something we’ve been looking forward to for a while, talking about for a while.,” Ross said. “He’s had a phenomenal season and has put himself in position to do something very special.”
“It’s been really fun, especially with all the people at state and the energy it brings,” Gold added. “It’s a bit nerve-wracking sometimes with so many people watching, but I’ve been around similar atmospheres with junior tennis, so it hasn’t been too crazy. I’m looking forward to the finals tomorrow.”
Elsewhere around the courts tomorrow, defending champion Niwot has a pair of its players in the singles finals, as sophomore Lichen Laio will take on George Washington junior Owen Duffy at No. 2, and senior Alan Wilcox will battle Cheyenne Mountain junior Steven Zhou at No. 3.
The two other doubles finals to not feature a head-to-head matchup between Kent Denver and Cheyenne Mountain will still have both teams in the mix. No. 2 doubles will pit the Sun Devils against Air Academy, and No. 4 doubles, which will feature the Red-Tailed Hawks against Colorado Academy.
All of the championship and third place matches will take place simultaneously and begin at 9 a.m. tomorrow.