The boys tennis regular season comes to a close this week, as the first ever team state championship brackets will be released on Friday. It’s the final push for teams to add one more statement to their resume for the committee to evaluate.
League championships will be decided and the remaining important dual matches will wrap up. However, the story of the past few weeks has been the tournament play.
From Grand Junction to Cherry Creek, from Kent Denver to Ralston Valley, there have been some major events that have started to show the small margins of separation between the top teams. In 5A, Regis Jesuit showed why the Raiders are a true contender this year, winning both the Western Slope Invitational and the Ralston Valley Invitational. Strong singles play from freshman William Dickey and the junior pair of Agustin Azcui and Brady Jenkins make the Raiders a real threat to topple Cherry Creek.
Even though Valor was not at full strength in the RV Invite, the Eagles continue to look like the other main threat to the Bruins’ run at a 45th state title. The Eagles’ depth in both their singles and doubles positions is perhaps the best it’s been to push the field in their quest for their first state title. The other team that looks like it belongs in the top four is the Sabercats from Fossil Ridge. It’s all the more impressive that they remain undefeated in dual matches with a first-place finish in the Greeley West Invite and a second-place finish in the RV Invite despite losing the majority of their team to graduation last season.
Behind those four regulars at the top is a massive group of schools that have little separation between them. Denver East, Ralston Valley, Fairview and Monarch are all neck and neck with each other. Throw in the surging Lobos from Rocky Mountain and you have a very competitive group vying for home court advantage in the first round of these team playoffs. Boulder, Grandview, Heritage, Mountain Vista, Broomfield, Pine Creek, Rock Canyon and Legacy all loom as potential upset threats.
The committee will have its work cut out for them seeding these schools with all the contested matches played between them so far.
In 4A, the story remains similar to 5A as a heavy favorite looks to repeat while a slew of contenders will look to knock them off their pedestal.
Kent Denver has been cruising behind undefeated reigning No. 1 singles champ Nathan Gold. But the rest of the team looks just as tough with Jack Cramer and Mareks Zeile also unbeaten at No. 2 doubles and plenty of depth throughout with both the Haymons brothers and Morgan brothers solidifying the Sun Devils as the team beat.
Cheyenne Mountain still remains the top threat as the Red-Tailed Hawks are also the defending champions due to the tie in team points at last year’s state tournament, but the Red-Tailed Hawks suffered a tough 1-6 defeated to their arch rivals. Denver South has been the next best team in 4A with talent and depth all throughout the lineup. The Ravens have several marquee wins over D’Evelyn, Colorado Academy, and Mullen. Speaking of the three local 4A rivals, they look like they belong in the next tier along with Niwot and George Washington. A large group of schools below them looking to clinch their spot in the top 16 on Friday include Coronado, Evergreen, Grand Junction, Peak to Peak and Thompson Valley.
With rain expected on Wednesday, the clock is ticking on the bubble teams hoping for one more big win to give them a boost going into Friday’s bracket release. It should be an exciting sprint to the finish line of the regular season for boys tennis.