There has been Cherry Creek. There has been Cheyenne Mountain. Then there’s been the rest of the state. That pretty much sums up high school boys tennis in a Colorado nutshell since the 1970s.
Be it in Class 5A, where Cherry Creek has won all but two team titles the past 36 years, or in 4A, where Cheyenne Mountain has won 12 of the past 15, the road to a championship has been rough for everybody else.
The big-school Bruins have only six returnees from 2007’s title team, but here’s where their loaded tennis ladder usually whips an overhead smash down the classification’s line:
“We have a lot of kids who started as beginners and it took them until their senior year to get to the top,” Cherry Creek coach Kirk Price said.
Chris Cooprider, Harry Jewett and Connor Macey are back from a year in which the Bruins won six of the seven singles’ and doubles’ crowns. The one it missed, No. 1 singles, is within range, with Cooprider and Rocky Mountain’s Casey Masters among top challengers.
However, in 4A, Cheyenne Mountain — which has won all but three titles since 1993 — will have to overcome the program that has interrupted the Indians’ dominance, Kent Denver. The Sun Devils, who won in 1999, 2003 and 2004, were Cheyenne Mountain’s toughest challenger last year in the finale, 13 points behind despite two doubles championships.
Kent Denver returns juniors Matt Carroll and J.J. Shpall; Cheyenne Mountain is senior-laden, including John Adams, Michael Cutter and Hemal Semwal. But the Indians must replace their top three singles players; Kent Denver returns all three.
“Everybody’s going to be gunning for us, and rightfully so,” Indians coach Dave Adams said.
Class 5A
Top teams: 1. Cherry Creek; 2. Rocky Mountain; 3. Fairview; 4. Regis; 5. Heritage; 6. Chatfield; 7. Grand Junction; 8. Durango; 9. Boulder; 10. Arapahoe
Top returnees: Devon Belcher, Boulder, Sr.; Chris Cooprider, Cherry Creek, Sr.; Jordan Duffey, Air Academy, Sr.; Harry Jewett, Cherry Creek, Sr.; Connor Macey, Cherry Creek, Sr.; Casey MacMaster, Rocky Mountain, Jr.; Ben Scissors, Grand Junction, Sr.; Dave Warren, Fairview, Jr.; Aiden Reid, Lewis-Palmer, Jr.; Ben Swain, Air Academy, Jr.
Class 4A
Top teams: 1. Cheyenne Mountain; 2. Kent Denver; 3. Steamboat Springs; 4. Mullen; 5. Broomfield; 6. Greeley West; 7. D’Evelyn; 8. Ralston Valley; 9. Mountain Range; 10. Silver Creek
Top returnees: John Adams, Cheyenne Mountain, Sr.; Matt Carroll, Kent Denver, Jr.; Michael Cutter, Cheyenne Mountain, Sr.; Andrew Flora, Mountain Range, Jr.; Ari Halling, Cheyenne Mountain, Sr.; Jeff Lambert, Steamboat Springs, Jr.; Hemal Semwal, Cheyenne Mountain, Sr.; J.J. Shpall, Kent Denver, Jr.; Charlie Smith, Steamboat Springs, Sr.; Stan Vaughan, Mullen, Jr.
Schedule
Season: Begins today and runs through Oct. 7.
Postseason: Regionals to be completed by Oct. 11; state tournament Oct. 16-18, 5A at Gates Tennis Center, 4A at Pueblo City Park
