Doubles tennis is a way of life at Chatfield, and seniors Sean Brading and Jared Chomko wouldn’t even think of trading their tandem game for the singles life.
Brading and Chomko dropped the first set in their first-round match but have taken only forward steps since then, beating Heritage’s Tucker Baer and Kevin Wilday 6-4, 6-4 in a No. 1 doubles semifinals match at the Class 5A boys state tennis tournament Friday at Gates Tennis Center.
The Chargers’ duo will get a shot at winning a state title, along with their No. 2 teammates Chris Poppleton and Parker Lewis, at 11 a.m. today as they try to continue Chatfield’s recent doubles success. The program has won five state doubles titles since 2003.
“Most of us grew up on the doubles game, not the singles game, so we are just naturally better at it. If I had to choose, I would rather be a doubles player. It’s more exciting and there are better points,” Chomko said.
Brading, who won a state title at No. 4 doubles in 2004 with Andrew Holmes, said he, too, is a doubles player first and that Chatfield’s success in that department can be easily pinpointed.
“Hard work. We all just work really hard on the court,” said Brading, who added the talent level at No. 1 doubles is leaps and bounds ahead of the No. 4 competition. “It really is a huge jump up. Everybody is so much better – they can volley, return, serve.”
Brading and Chomko will face Cherry Creek’s Jake Schneiders and Andy Bensen in today’s final.
Schneiders won the No. 1 doubles title last season with Chris Cooprider, and Bensen won at No. 2 with Jake Goldberg. Chatfield and Cherry Creek’s No. 1 doubles team played a close match this season with Schneiders and Bensen winning in straight sets.
Meanwhile, Cherry Creek secured its 33rd state team title in 35 years.
Grand Junction, Boulder, Chatfield, Rocky Mountain and Air Academy gave the Bruins a run, but there will be no catching one of the premier tennis programs in the nation.
All four of the Bruins’ doubles teams advanced to the final, as did the No. 1 and 3 singles positions.
No. 1 singles defending champion Doug Mayeda of Cherry Creek defeated Boulder’s Calix van Lier in the semifinals, a replay of last season’s title match, and will face Grand Junction’s Jordan Bridge.
Rocky Mountain’s T.J. MacMaster will face Alan Oakes of Cherry Creek in the No. 3 singles final, and his brother, freshman Casey MacMaster, charged through the first three rounds at No. 2 singles to set up a match against Boulder’s Blake Howard, who upended Cooprider.
“Chris had worked me earlier this year, so I didn’t expect to make it here,” Howard said.
