(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
PUEBLO — Kent Denver isn’t messing around.
The school’s boys tennis team came into this week’s Class 4A state tennis tournament with players in each bracket, and through the first day, each of them had advanced to Friday’s semifinals.
And as a result, the Sun Devils have become the early favorites to grasp the team state championship.
“It’s the first day and there’s a lot of matches still to be played,” Sun Devils coach Randy Ross said. “The people winning matches in the first round are just getting their feet wet and just working their way into this environment. I don’t put a lot of stock into what happens on the first day.”
But he may want to. Feeling like Colorado Academy was the team to beat coming in, the Sun Devils are holding off the Mustangs, thanks to some freshman help from Peak to Peak.
In the No. 1 singles bracket, the Mustangs were dealt a huge blow as Mac Mease fell to Brett Finan 6-4, 6-3. Mease finished third in last year’s state tournament as a junior and was hoping to bounce back for a title in his senior year.
“I was playing really well today,” Finan said. “The first round was really hard, but it was a really good match and it just shocked him, I guess.”
That loss for Colorado Academy helped the Sun Devils seize control of the tournament, though several teams are nipping right on their heels.
Among them is Niwot who got big wins from Max Petrak in No. 1 singles and Allen Fu in No. 3 singles. The Cougars finished Thursday with 15 points, only 4 behind the Sun Devils and one behind second place Colorado Academy.
“I was thinking if we could sneak in at third or fourth as a team, that would be good,” Niwot coach Miikka Keronen said. “With how young we are with four freshmen and three other guys that have never been here, we have seven guys that haven’t been in this atmosphere.”
But sometimes, the lack of experience can be a good thing. There were a couple of major upsets early in the tournament on an individual level.
On top of Finan’s win over Mease, Discovery Canyon freshman Nick Lorenz took down CSCS senior Jeremiah Hansen 6-0, 6-2. Lorenz then took down Fountain Valley’s Vinay Merchant 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals to move to Friday’s semifinal round.
“I really like team events,” Lorenz said. “I play a lot of USTA tournaments and that’s all individual, it’s more stressful playing in team events, but so far I’ve handled it well.”
Friday figures to be the key day in terms of team scores. With each trip to the finals worth five points, big swings can potentially be made at the top of the standings.
Ross hopes that his boys can hang on and come away with a championship that he thought Colorado Academy was in line to win.
“We have nine guys out of our 11 that have been here,” Ross said. “They know what it’s like and how to work your way into this thing.”