State tennis roundup: Boulder’s Smith rallies in three-set quarterfinal

Mountain Vista’s Ben Antonsen serves to Boulder’s Kap Smith on Thursday. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

DENVER — Kap Smith didn’t let the tension of playing in his first Class 5A state tennis tournament get to him.

The Boulder High School freshman cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Brian Ross of Chatfield in his first-round match Thursday, then played the comeback mode as he rallied to defeat Ben Antonsen of Mountain Vista in their three-set quarterfinal.

After losing the first set 7-6, including a 7-4 tiebreaker, Smith found himself trailing Antonsen 3-0 in the second set.

At the changeover, “I was thinking about my aunt,” he said. “She’s sick. I just said, ‘I’m thinking about you.'”

That was all the motivation he needed as he won the next six games, taking the set, then held off Antonsen 6-4 in the third set.

“I think that’s my first three-setter (of the season),” he said of having to go the distance in the match.

Smith admitted that the atmosphere at the Gates Tennis Center got to him early.

“I didn’t expect everything here,” he said of the spectacle of the state tournament.

After falling behind in the second set of the quarterfinals, “I was too pumped up,” he said. So, “I just slowed everything down.”

Smith faces a tall order on Friday’s semifinals. He’ll meet Ethan Hillis of Cherry Creek, last year’s state champion at No. 3 singles.

What did Smith take from his first day?

“My fight and spirit,” he said. “I’ll do it for Boulder High.”

Traditional power Cherry Creek continued its dominance in the state tennis ranks. The Bruins tallied 21 points to take the first-day lead in the team race over Denver East by five points, with Fairview third with 15 points. Smith helped Boulder to a tie for fourth with 12 points.

The semifinals, weather permitting, begin at 9 a.m. Friday at Gates Tennis Center.

Find full results from the first day of the tournament here.

Rain forces long delay at 4A tournament

Rain forced a long delay at the 4A state tennis championships. (Dan Mohrmann)

While the 5A tournament split into two sites in an effort to avoid rain that never materialized, the 4A tournament in Pueblo wasn’t as lucky.

Play was suspended at 10:08 a.m. with just 10 matches completed. It didn’t resume again until 3:50 p.m., as tournament officials had to wait for the courts to fully dry out. The delay lasted 5 hours and 42 minutes.

The tournament resumed for exactly an hour and a half before more rain caused the rest of the first day of play to be postponed to Friday. The first round was not completed, but 15 further matches finished after the delay.

Through the 25 matches completed Thursday, Kent Denver held the team lead with four points. Colorado Academy, Niwot and Air Academy are all tied in second place with three points. Lewis-Palmer, Greeley Central and Aspen all have two team points.

Further delays on Saturday — in both Pueblo and Denver — are possible. Forecasts for both areas show overnight rain which is expected to continue into the morning.

Find complete 4A results here.

— Ryan Casey, CHSAANow.com