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Boys' tennis preview: Team-by-team capsules
We asked coaches to nominate someone to carry the flag for area boys' tennis teams if all local schools were to enter together into an event like the Olympic Opening Cermonies. Here were some of the responses:
Naren Clark, because he represents the entire CSS team … Tim Treat because he has been an assistant at Air Academy for eight years. He’s the “engine behind many of our players’success”- AA coach Ron Gorr … Kent Schaller, Jeff Milliman, and Kollen Kaltenbacher are all four-year lettermen at Air Academy. … Zack Tomek and Ethan Follon are seniors at Coronado and co-captains who will be competing for the team’s No. 1 spot. … Chase Oglesby, with his stylish sunglasses, he is the leader of the Mitchell squad. … William Chu, a senior from Fountain Valley who moved from Taiwan as a freshman, and will be the Danes’ most experienced player. … Dalton Stephens and Stuart Davis, both are seniors as Stephens will play for Sand Creek and Davis will play for Falcon. … Noah Jones, a junior for Doherty that has been on varsity since his freshman year. … Steven Moore, Dave Adams says Steven is the senior is the best player in the Colorado Springs area … Jacob Stoller Lee, the top tennis player at Palmer.
Outlook for the boys’ tennis season for teams that responded to a request for information from The Gazette:
5A METRO
Doherty
Coach: James Blase (first year)
Key players: Joseph Besler sr., Noah Jones jr., Eli Peterson jr.
Outlook: Blase expects to be competitive even though the Spartans lost nine seniors from last season.
Fountain-Fort Carson
Coach: Annette Kokoszka (seventh year)
Outlook: With three returning players and a coach back from missing last season due to having a baby; this young team will need to improve quickly to keep up in 5A.
Liberty
Coach: Joe Frasca (fourth year)
Key players: Matt Jacobberger jr., Nate Miller sr., Kyle Osborne sr., Drew Stoltzfus sr., Mac Sommers sr., Alex Chang jr., Cody Leasure jr., Tyler Leasure jr.
Outlook: Liberty returns all three of its singles players as well as its No. 1 doubles team. Frasca expects a strong team.
Palmer
Coach: Todd Nelson (third year)
Key players: Jacob Stoller Lee, Asher MacEnaulty, Vincent Villarreal, Weilang Sun, Jon Comiskey, Ibrahim Khan
Outlook: One goal: “move up in the league,” Nelson says.
Pine Creek
Coach: Dave Lehman
Returning state qualifiers: Owen Davis, Daniel Mawhirter, Cameron Edsall
Outlook: Lehman expects at least one or two kids to qualify for state, but acknowledges that this is a relatively new team.
Rampart
Coach: Laura Kellar (sixth season)
Key Players: Drew Bragado sr.
Outlook: It’s rebuilding time at Rampart. The Rams lost several of their top players including state qualifier and No. 1 singles player Travis Kimsey.
4A REGION 2
Discovery Canyon
Coach: Mike Humphrey (fifth year)
Returning state qualifiers: Luke Lorenz jr., Brandon Nachbar sr.
Other key players: Robert Olson jr., Baylor May fr.
Outlook: Finished sixth in state last year led by Nachbar’s second-place finish in No. 2 singles.
4A REGION 3
Lewis-Palmer
Coach: Paul Kardel (13th season)
Returning state qualifiers: Jared Stuart jr., Jonathan Forte sr.
Other key players: Thomas Gregory jr., Lucas Palonen jr., JK Balk jr., Adam Schiefer jr., Daniel Asman sr., DJ Foley sr.
Palmer Ridge
Coach: Skip Wells (fifth year)
Key Players: Ryan Courtney jr., Gavin Wolfe sr., Erik Sabelstrom jr.
Outlook: Palmer Ridge lost its six top players from last year, but Wells remains confident he has a deep team.
4A REGION 6
Cheyenne Mountain
Coach: Dave Adams (26th season)
Returning state qualifiers: Stephen Moore sr., Billy Fielding sr., Andrew Venner, Cole Benson, Matt Clancy, Austin Hampton, Nathaniel Rocks
Outlook: The Indians have won state five of the past seven years. And while Adams says that he might have to create all of his doubles’ teams from scratch, Cheyenne Mountain is still the best team in the area and likely in all of 4A once again.
Coronado
Coach: Paul Bernier (third year)
Key players: Ethan Follon sr., Zach Tomek sr., Peter Dumitru jr., Josh Dorado jr., Dimas Gutierrez jr., Jonah Buchanan soph., Sean Pharris soph.
Outlook: The Cougars return seven varsity players and Bernier says it will be the “best Coronado team in several years.”
CSS
Coach: Naren Clark (first year)
Outlook: The team is inexperienced with the loss of five seniors including Ryan Moyes and multisport athlete Jackson Pinney. “(We’ll be) good,” Clark said, “but not as good as last year.”
Fountain Valley
Coach: Randy Jones (ninth year, fourth season)
Key players: William Chu sr., Fermin Serrano soph., Doug Adams jr., Connor Adams soph., William Reagan soph.
Outlook: It’s rebuilding time for Fountain Valley. It lost five of its six doubles players and its top-two singles players.
Mitchell
Coach: Andrew McPherson (first year)
Key players: Chyra Larkin jr., Caleb Ponczoch sr., Chase Oglesby sr., Aaron Cooley sr., Peter Jordan sr., Anthony Terrell sr.
Outlook: The team has a handful of upperclassmen, but not a ton of experience. McPherson hopes they can peak by regionals.
Sand Creek
Coach: Sean Robertson (first year)
Key players: Andrei Mahoney jr.
Outlook: It’ll be a slow process to start racking up the wins, but Robertson raves about Mahoney, who transferred from Hawaii.
4A REGION 7
Air Academy
Coach: Ron Gorr
Returning state qualifiers: Mickey Martin sr., Jase Wyeno sr., Jeff Milliman sr., Naish Guabatz sr., Kollen Kaltenbacher sr., Keenan Kaltenbacher soph., Taylor Ball soph., Kent Schaller sr.
Other key players: Michael Sheldon sr., Matt Ryan sr., Everett Valtin sr.
Outlook: Air Academy returns eight state qualifiers after taking fourth at state last season.
Cañon City
Coach: Joe Lozano (fourth season)
Returning state qualifiers: Alex Albrecht sr., Nick Beaumont sr., Kyle Harlow sr., Jacob Reiger sr.
Other key players: Noah Remillard sr., Jeremy Harrigan sr., Shea Claflin soph., Zachary Fluck soph.
Outlook: All of the team’s seniors have played all four years and sophomores Zachary Fluck and Shea Claflin will play singles for the Tigers.
Mesa Ridge
Coach: Lisa Felice (16th year)
Key players: Dakota Riffee sr., Desi DeBouillons jr.
Outlook: Mesa Ridge is inexperienced, its coach says. But “I think we have potential,” Felice said.
Widefield
Coach: Chad Anderson (first year)
Outlook: Anderson was impressed with his team’s attitude at camp this offseason. But with only four returning varsity players, it’ll be a rebuilding year.
