In the modern age of tennis, with its oversized rackets and phenoms that hit the ball upward of 120 mph, Cherry Creek’s Doug Mayeda is a breath of fresh air.
The Bruins junior simply plays his game, and Saturday that was more than good enough to down Boulder’s Calix van Lier 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 1 singles final of the Class 5A tennis championship at Gates Tennis Center.
“This means more to me than anything I’ve ever done in tennis,” said Mayeda, who returned to Cherry Creek after two years at a tennis academy in Texas.
Said Cherry Creek coach Kirk Price of his top player: “He is a tactical tennis player, and he has learned to hit against these boys with new rackets that hit it a ton. His main goal is to get those big hitters off-balance.”
Mayeda, who suffered one of his two setbacks this season to van Lier in the final of the Cherry Creek Invitational, epitomized the term “crafty.” Tied 2-2 in the first set, Mayeda, and his chip-and-charge style, committed just one unforced error in the last four games of the first set.
Van Lier, a sophomore, broke Mayeda’s serve in a long game to begin the second set, but was unable to hang on to any sort of momentum. He was broken at love on his next serve, a game that included three careless unforced errors.
“I just didn’t have the right shots at the right times,” van Lier said. “Just the way he plays, constantly rushing the net, it is hard to get any sort of rhythm with that. I just wasn’t stroking the ball cleanly at all today.”
Mayeda finished the match with 25 winners, most at the net, against just 12 unforced errors. Van Lier had his share of winners, with 22 (11 in the first four games of the match), but his inability to pass Mayeda and 18 unforced errors did him in.
Mayeda’s victory, as well as wins from Matt Kranich (No. 3 singles) and three of the four double teams, led Cherry Creek to its 32nd title in 34 years.
Kranich, who has type-1 diabetes, was extended to three sets for the second time this season against Grand Junction’s Nick Provenza, prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
“He came out right from the start and completely outplayed me,” Kranich said. “I got lucky and was able to turn it around. It is nice to end my senior year on a high note.”
It wasn’t a perfect day for the Bruins. Durango’s Geoff Lewis became the Demons’ first singles champion with his 6-4, 6-1 victory over Cherry Creek’s Alan Oakes at No. 2. Lewis extended the short list of Durango tennis champions – it also includes the No. 2 doubles team from 1996 of Zak Barron and Niko Cordalis.
“Once I got going, I knew that the first set was going to be a big factor in who would win the match,” said Lewis, who will jump to No. 1 singles next season. “Being from Durango, you are sort of an underdog every time out, but a lot of these guys knew who I was.”
The Chatfield No. 4 doubles team of Will Gleave and Parker Lewis maintained the Chargers’ three-year hold on the position with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Tucker Baer and J.B. Britten of Heritage.
CLASS 5A STATE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Gates Tennis Center
Team scores – Cherry Creek 83, Chatfield 43, Boulder 30, Grand Junction 27, Regis 24, Fairview 18, Heritage 17, Durango 15, Fort Collins 9, Green Mountain 9, Chaparral 5, Air Academy 5, Columbine 4, Ponderosa 3, Rocky Mountain 3, Rampart 2, East 1, Fruita Monument 1, Littleton 1, Monarch 1.
Championship matches
No. 1 singles – Doug Mayeda, Cherry Creek def. Calix van Lier, Boulder, 6-2, 6-2.
No. 2 – Geoff Lewis, Durango def. Alan Oakes, Cherry Creek, 6-4, 6-1.
No. 3 – Matt Kranich, Cherry Creek def. Nick Provenza, Grand Junction, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
No. 1 doubles – Jake Schneiders-Chris Cooprider, Cherry Creek def. Sean Brading-Kellyn VanHaveren, Chatfield, 6-2, 6-3.
No. 2 – Andy Benson-Jake Goldberg, Cherry Creek def. Taylor Brisch-Joe Harvey, Regis, 6-0, 6-1.
No. 3 – John Posada-Harry Jewett, Cherry Creek def. Ryan Reetz-Kevin Wilday, Heritage, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
No. 4 – Will Gleave-Parker Lewis, Chatfield def. Tucker Baer-J.B. Britten, Heritage, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
Third-place matches
No. 1 singles – Jordan Bridge, Grand Junction def. Slavi Fildish, Green Mountain, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3; No. 2 – Landon Hilker, Regis def. Rick Ramirez, Fort Collins, 6-1, 6-2; No. 3 – Amha Assefa, Boulder, def. Jordan Chomko, Chatfield, 6-1, 6-1.
No. 1 doubles – N. McDowell-Mac Wetherbee, Fairview def. Mike Frank-Spencer Page, Chaparral, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4; No. 2 – Chad Patacky-Jared Chomko, Chatfield, def. Connor Burke-Tyler Harmon, Fairview, 6-0, 6-2; No. 3 – Chris Poppleton-Kevin DeHerrera, Chatfield def. Oliver Cheng-Cass Krughoss, Fairview, 6-1, 6-0; No. 4 – Jon Stout-Adam Swanson, Cherry Creek def. Sam Geller-Kevin Head, Boulder, 6-2, 7-5.
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-820-5446 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
