AURORA – Kent Denver’s tennis program is one of the most prolific in the state, with 13 boys tennis state championships (fourth-most all-time), including each of the last three in Class 4A, and six additional girls tennis state championships (third-most all-time), including 2024’s 4A state title.
That remarkable history of success is not the only thing that stands out about the Sun Devils’ storied tennis program though.
Kent Denver’s tennis program is also home to Will and Lila Moldenhauer – a twin tandem that has combined to claim a total of six Colorado High School Activities Association state championships.
Will’s three state titles come from Kent Denver’s boys team tennis three-peat, while Lila owns the girls individual tennis state championships from each of the last two seasons, along with her 2023 team state title.
“We practice together and against each other at times, and we travel to tournaments together, so there’s definitely somewhat of a sibling rivalry,” Lila Moldenhauer shared. “I feel like there’s always some level of competition between us, just because we’re competitive and care about this, but it never gets to be too much. It’s always just fun pushing each other.”
“I think, especially recently, any sort of real ‘rivalry’ has gone away, just because we’re both dealing with the same stuff and facing the same challenges, especially outside of tennis, with college coming up,” Will added. “We’re just trying to help each other get better on the court.”
Tennis has been a family business for the Moldenhauers ever since their older brother, Jack, picked up the sport. In high school, Jack won six state titles of his own, with two individual and four team championships.
Watching Jack thrive at the sport soon made Will and Lila fall in love with the game, too.
“Just growing up and watching him, that kind of became what our family did, and it got us into that world, even though neither of our parents play tennis or played it growing up,” Will explained.
According to the Moldenhauers, watching each other compete is much more difficult, and a whole lot more stressful, than competing themselves.
“It’s extremely nerve-wracking to watch Will,” Lila said. “I watch a lot of his matches because we’re always supportive of each other. I would say that watching him makes me more nervous than playing, just because I want him to do so well, but I can only watch.”
“That’s kind of what we’ve always said, that watching is harder than playing because you have no control over the outcome” Will agreed. “But no matter what, we both try to make it to a lot of each other’s matches. Since we compete in a lot of the same tournaments, I get to cheer and watch her play, and she always does the same for me. Having that built-in support system is really nice.”
Watching each other refine their tennis craft might have been the catalyst for the Moldenhauers falling in love with the sport of tennis, but being able to compete against, and learn from, each other has been the key to them reaching the pinnacle of Colorado’s 4A high school tennis landscape.
Both Will and Lila have wrinkles to their game that the other would otherwise seldom see in competition.
“In my normal matches and tournaments, I rarely see super big serves or people who slice a lot on their strikes, but those are elements that Will has in his game,” Lila reflected. “So, playing against him has definitely helped me become more prepared for when I do run into an opponent who is able to deliver those powerful serves and more difficult shots.”
Will has experienced a similar phenomenon, though its Lila’s left-handedness that provides him that leg up.
“Because Lila’s a lefty, and I’ve been practicing with her all of my life, it’s not so foreign to me to play against,” Will explained. “Playing lefties, for a lot of people, is really difficult, because the spin on the ball is completely different, and so how you have to play against it is completely different. I’ve found that flipping that switch seems to be easier for me, comparatively.”
Now, Will is hoping that all that training can help him fill the one gap in his high school tennis resume – an individual state title. As a freshman, Will reached the No. 2 singles quarterfinals and then advanced to the No. 1 2 singles finals as a sophomore. Last year, he made the jump up to No. 1 singles and made it to the semifinals, where he lost to eventual state champ, D’Evelyn’s Aswaanth Karuppasamy.
“We definitely want to take another team state title, and keep that streak alive, and I would really love to get an individual title for myself this year. That’s the goal,” Will said.
Will Moldenhauer will look to add that elusive individual title to his collection during CHSAA’s 4A boys individual tennis state championships, which will run Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 17-19, at Pueblo City Park, in Pueblo. Meanwhile, Kent Denver’s boys tennis team will look to defend their three-peat at CHSAA’s 4A boys team tennis state championship tournament. CHSAA’s 4A boys team tennis state championship finals will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at Denver Tennis Park, in Denver.
Lila Moldenhauer and Kent Denver’s girls tennis team will look to add to their respective trophy collections in the spring when the girls tennis season comes around.