Boys tennis: Fairview and Niwot still alive in team tournaments
Sep. 28—The boys' tennis programs from Fairview and Niwot advanced to the quarterfinals inside their respective team tournaments Wednesday.
The Knights and the Cougars are now on the road Friday afternoon with a semifinals berth at stake. Boulder, Centaurus and Peak to Peak fell in the opening round.
Here is where those five teams stand heading forward.
Class 5A
Fairview 6, Denver East 1
What's next: The sixth-seeded Knights are at No. 3 Valor Christian Friday at 3:30 p.m.
How'd they get here: Adhrit Sundaresan won in three sets at No. 2 singles against the 11th-ranked Angels, while the five lines below also netted victories, sending the Knights to the team quarterfinals for a second straight year.
No. 3 singles player Ben Mei-Dan and the 1-doubles team of Noah Bodner and Cecil Carroll both won 6-4, 6-2. The No. 2 doubles team of Jake Boston and Charles Gomulka won in straight games.
Caden Bell lost in three sets at 1-singles.
Valor Christian 7, Boulder 0
What's next: The Panthers will look to advance lines to the individual state tournament at regionals next week.
How'd they get here: The No. 14 Panthers were swept by the third seed in Round 1, moving their dual record to 6-5 this season.
Top singles players Andre Parham and Jackson Lewis are among those looking to advance to the individual state tournament.
Cherry Creek 7, Centaurus 0
What's next: The Warriors will be at regionals next week, looking to advance as many lines as possible to the individual state tournament.
How'd they get here: The 15th-seeded Warriors lost their first dual match this season, falling 7-0 to the No. 2 Bruins in the opening round.
Ace Stephen Zakany and No. 3 singles player Zach Gablehouse each took three games in their straight-sets losses. No. 2 Dexy Payne took four in his match.
Class 4A
Niwot 5, George Washington 2
What's next: The seventh-seeded Cougars are at No. 2 Colorado Academy Friday at 4:30 p.m.
How'd they get here: Though LiChen Liao was forced to retire at No. 1 singles, 3-singles player Charlie Kirtland and all four doubles teams won to oust No. 10 George Washington.
Kirtland won 6-1, 6-1, while the 1-doubles team of Kyle Davidson and Sebastian Moy won 6-1, 6-0.
Kent Denver 6, Peak to Peak 1
What's next: The Pumas will play at 4A Region 6 at Cheyenne Mountain High School next week.
How'd they get here: Ace Dhruv Shajikumar beat Kent Denver's Cole Fenton in three sets at No. 1 singles.
The rest of their lines fell in two sets.
The Pumas are 6-2 in duals this season.
