One star player almost didn’t come back and the other won’t be back until regionals. But as the boys tennis season starts today, Rocky Mountain’s Casey MacMaster and Broomfield’s Kelly Donaldson plan to defend their state titles.
MacMaster, the 6-foot-6 defending Class 5A champion at No. 1 singles, pondered not playing his senior season while still working on his game in his quest to go to college. With the likes of Harvard, Duke and Notre Dame on his shortlist, it’s no wonder his academic and athletic future weighed heavily on his decision.
But ultimately, it was those universities that made his decision for him.
“A lot of colleges are not interested in high school tennis. It was your performance that mattered at national tournaments,” said MacMaster, who played last week in Kalamazoo, Mich. “But when I narrowed my schools down, they promoted the team atmosphere. They wanted you to play with a team.
“Right then, I decided to stay with high school tennis. I called up Coach and I had a sudden shift in plans. I’m happy to be playing with those guys.”
With MacMaster back in the fold, Rocky Mountain figures to join Regis Jesuit among teams hoping to overtake longtime state power Cherry Creek for the Class 5A team title.
“I think he was planning all along on playing for the team, playing for the school,” Rocky Mountain coach Bruce Malloy said of MacMaster. “His commitment is to getting his education first versus going pro.”
While MacMaster is back, it is Donaldson’s back that has the defending Class 4A champion at No. 1 singles sitting on the sidelines. The Broomfield senior, who fractured the L3 vertebra last season only for the pain to subside enough for him to win a state title, is recovering from a fracture of the L4 vertebra this month. He will miss at least four weeks, but hopes to be back for regionals.
Donaldson didn’t play for seven months before returning to the court this summer to get, as he calls it, his “competitive edge” back.
“He’s been working hard most of the summer,” Broomfield coach Jim Vogel said. “He’s been working hard to get himself back in playing shape. He’s looking pretty good right now.”
But this month he had to retire from a match against Kent Denver’s Jack Reynolds when the L4 injury occurred.
Come regionals the first week of October, Donaldson hopes to be back and defending his title. Anything less won’t be satisfying enough.
“I’ll definitely play regionals and hopefully get to state again,” Donaldson said. “I’ll be disappointed if I don’t.”
Boys tennis
Top teams
Class 5A
1. Cherry Creek
2. Regis Jesuit
3. Fairview
4. Rocky Mountain
5. Denver East
Class 4A
1. Kent Denver
2. Cheyenne Mountain
3. Mullen
4. Broomfield
5. Niwot
Top individuals
Class 5A
Alex Clinkenbeard, Sr., Loveland; Dominic D’Costa, Sr., Regis Jesuit; Colin Haas, Sr., Regis Jesuit; Simon Hagelund, Sr., George Washington; Ben Halverson, Jr., Cherry Creek; Scott Holmes, Sr., Chatfield; Luke Kiniry, Sr., Regis Jesuit; Joel Lowinger, Sr., Cherry Creek; Casey MacMaster, Sr., Rocky Mountain; Mark Miller, Sr., Regis Jesuit; Taylor Sargent, Sr., Cherry Creek; Reid Spitz, Sr., Cherry Creek; Yohei Uema, Sr., Chaparral; Calvin Ward, Sr., George Washington; Dave Warren, Sr., Fairview.
Class 4A
Joe Aragon, Sr., Fossil Ridge; Keegan Burger, Jr., Steamboat Springs; Matt Carroll, Sr., Kent Denver; Kelly Donaldson, Sr., Broomfield; Connor Hudson, Jr., Mullen; Jeffrey Hudson, Sr., Mullen; Elias Lehnert, Jr., Greeley West; James Martinez, Sr., Kent Denver; Jon Moore, Jr., Cheyenne Mountain; Aidan Reid, Sr., Lewis-Palmer; Jack Reynolds, Jr., Kent Denver; Chris Schommer, Sr., Greeley West; J.J. Shpall, Sr., Kent Denver; Jamey Swiggart, Soph., Steamboat Springs; Stan Vaughan, Sr., Mullen.
Season information
First competition: Today
Regionals: Completed by Oct. 10
State tournaments: Oct. 15-17; Class 5A at the Gates Tennis Center, Class 4A at Pueblo City Park
Defending champions: 5A, Cherry Creek; 4A, Kent Denver
Taking on Cherry Creek
A look at the boys tennis season, which begins today:
CLASS 5A: Is there any doubt Cherry Creek is the cream of the crop? Having won all but three state championships since 1972 and with a plethora of talent back — including Taylor Sargent, last year’s No. 2 singles champion, who is moving up to No. 1 — the Bruins are favored once again. “I can’t see why we wouldn’t be,” Bruins coach Kirk Price said. “There’s a consistent situation with Cherry Creek. We keep building kids from inside of our program.” Look for Regis Jesuit, once again, to provide Cherry Creek’s top competition for the team title.
CLASS 4A: With Broomfield’s Kelly Donaldson battling back injuries, the No. 1 singles championship is up for grabs. Cheyenne Mountain’s Jon Moore, Lewis-Palmer’s Aidan Reid, Kent Denver’s J.J. Shpall and Mullen’s Stan Vaughan should battle for top honors while Donaldson recuperates. Broomfield hopes to challenge for the team championship. As does Kent Denver, which surprised Cheyenne Mountain last year on the state tournament’s final day.
