Locals own 41 positions across individual tennis tournaments

Oct. 11—When and where: The state tennis tournaments will take place from Thursday to Saturday at Denver City Park (5A) and Pueblo City Park (4A).

The scouting report: The postseason format for high school tennis in Colorado is still relatively new. The individual state tournaments determine the champions in each singles and doubles position. The 16-team dual playoffs, which began last month and will end next week, determine the team winners in both classifications.

Starting on Thursday, players from the Boulder, Broomfield, and Longmont areas will compete across the two individual tournaments, with a total of 41 lines.

Niwot High School is sending its entire team to Pueblo after dominating the 4A Region 5 tournament last week. Senior LiChen Liao, the No. 1 singles player, is seeking his second title after winning at No. 2 singles as a sophomore.

Fairview High School will have a complete team in Denver. The Knights’ first-round matches feature local rivalries, including a matchup between freshman Adhrit Sundaresan and Broomfield’s Ryder Pierce at 2 singles, Jake Boston/Charlie Gomulka against Monarch’s Ben Willcutt/Aiden Swett at 2 doubles, and Ian Schwartz/Sam Rich facing Legacy’s Gregory Waggoner/Karsen Barnes at 3 doubles.

Peak to Peak High School also qualified seven lines in 4A. Ace Dhruv Shajikumar, who won a regional championship, will face Will Moldenhauer of Kent Denver, the runner-up in the No. 2 singles bracket, in the first round.

Legacy High School is sending players in six positions in 5A, including ace David Tran who will face Fossil Ridge’s Tyler Van Tassell in a rematch of their two-set match at the Front Range League tournament last month.

In the 5A No. 1 singles bracket, Broomfield senior Kai Trujillo has the potential for a deep run after finishing as the runner-up in the FRL tournament and winning a regional championship last week.

Trujillo, along with Fairview’s Caden Bell, returns to a seemingly open 1-singles bracket after both of them were eliminated in the opening round last year. Among the top players from last year’s 5A tournament, six of the eight quarterfinalists and all of the semifinalists have since graduated.

In other 5A matches, Boulder High School is sending three positions, with Jackson Lewis representing the No. 2 singles players. Lewis lost to Valor Christian’s Jace Nakamura, who remains undefeated this year according to MaxPreps, in the regional finals last week.

Centaurus High School, along with Monarch, is sending its 2-doubles team. Julian Piccolini and Cai Jaffe will face Regis Jesuit’s team in their first matchup.

In 4A, Frederick High School sophomore Josiah Brittenham qualified for his first state tournament and will face Cheyenne Mountain junior Andrew Ballenger in the opening round. Brittenham did not qualify for the tournament last year while playing at 2 singles and lost to Liao in the 1-singles regional finals last week.

Dawson and Longmont High Schools are each sending three lines. Dawson’s No. 2 player, Trey Larsen, was defeated by Niwot’s Oskar Hansen in the regional finals last week. Similarly, Longmont’s No. 3 player Jesse Arnt fell to Niwot’s Charlie Kirtland.

Inclement weather may impact the three-day schedule in Denver. Currently, the first matches in both Denver and Pueblo are set to begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday.