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Fossil Ridge regional sweep leads 27 Fort Collins boys tennis state qualifiers

chris abshire, fort collins coloradoan
·4 min read
Fossil Ridge tennis player Tyler Van Tassell was part of the SaberCat sweep in 5A regionals, as all seven Fossil lines won region titles and qualified for the individual state tournament.
Fossil Ridge tennis player Tyler Van Tassell was part of the SaberCat sweep in 5A regionals, as all seven Fossil lines won region titles and qualified for the individual state tournament.

Live updates: 27 Fort Collins tennis players compete at 5A state tournament

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Seventeen lines and 27 players from Fort Collins schools qualified for the 2023 Colorado Class 5A high school state boys tennis tournament.

Regional tournaments were played across the state this past week and city teams placed a slew of qualifiers in the upcoming three-day individual tournament held Oct. 12-14.

Here is a look at all of our individual qualifiers, plus what the format and schedule will look like at the state tournament:

SaberCats' sweep qualifies all seven Fossil lines for state

Fossil Ridge swept titles on all seven lines Thursday en route to a 5A Region 3 championship at North Lake Park Tennis Park in Loveland.

Here are all the Fossil players who qualified for the 5A state individual tournament with regional wins:

  • No. 1 singles: Tyler Van Tassell

  • No. 2 singles: Nate Walton

  • No. 3 singles: Alex Van Thuyne

  • No. 1 doubles: Cadel Webb and Vedant Manakeshwar

  • No. 2 doubles: Ian Miller and Pedro Buffon Houbrich

  • No. 3 doubles: Jace Fitzpatrick and Gavin Payne

  • No. 4 doubles: Davis Samuelson and Phillipe Sampaio

Van Thuyne and Payne already have big-match experience at the state tournament, winning third place on their respective doubles lines last fall.

This is the third straight year that the SaberCats have swept Front Range League plus regional championships and the fifth consecutive time they've sent all seven lines to state.

It's another strong statement from this Fossil Ridge team, which lost seven of 11 state-qualifying players from last year's squad but still rolled to an 11-1 regular-season record.

The SaberCats also remain in the team playoff, which is being played for the second season after debuting last year.

Fossil is the No. 4 seed in the team event, already scoring wins over No. 13 Mountain Vista (6-1) and No. 5 Ralston Valley (4-3) last week.

Next up is a matchup against top overall seed Regis Jesuit in a Tuesday semifinal.

More: Fossil Ridge, Windsor boys golfers notch top-5 finishes at Colorado state championships

5 Fort Collins lines heading to state

The Lambkins didn't quite get a sweep, but they were impressive nonetheless in Region 5 at Lebsack Tennis Center in Highlands Ranch.

Three Fort Collins lines won regional titles, while two more qualified for state with runner-up finishes.

Porter Gallegos (No. 3 singles) was especially impressive in his regional championship, outlasting Arapahoe's Zach Gablehouse in a three-set thriller, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 7-5.

Here are the other Lambkins who qualified with regional wins or second-place spots:

  • No. 1 doubles: Jackson Sullivan and Vic Hubbard (first)

  • No. 4 doubles: Callaway Orr and Ben Schlicting (first)

  • No. 1 singles: Jake Bronson (second)

  • No. 3 doubles: Henry Webb and Bennett Metz (first)

Fort Collins doubles player Jackson Sullivan (left) was one of eight Lambkins to qualify for the 2023 Class 5A boys individual state tennis tournament.
Fort Collins doubles player Jackson Sullivan (left) was one of eight Lambkins to qualify for the 2023 Class 5A boys individual state tennis tournament.

Rocky also sends 8 to state

The Lobos also got in on the qualifying action, sending eight players to state with a strong performance in Region 8 at Chaparral High School plus Railbender Skate and Tennis Park in Parker.

Just like Fort Collins, three Rocky lines won, and another two took runner-up regional honors to advance to state.

Drake Solley and Levi Teck led the way with a win on the No. 1 doubles line, beating Chaparral in the regional finals.

Here are the other Lobos who qualified:

  • No. 3 doubles: Justin Morris and Cooper Campbell (first)

  • No. 4 doubles: Zach Stimac and August Burton (first)

  • No. 2 singles: Baily Livengood (second)

  • No. 3 singles: Peter Rademacher (second)

Rocky Mountain tennis player Baily Livengood was one of eight Lobos to qualify for the 2023 5A high school state tennis tournament.
Rocky Mountain tennis player Baily Livengood was one of eight Lobos to qualify for the 2023 5A high school state tennis tournament.

Colorado 5A state tennis schedule, format

The 5A individual state tournament runs from Thursday, Oct. 12 to Saturday, Oct. 14, at City Park in Denver.

The format is single-elimination for the championship, but double elimination for third through sixth place via playbacks.

The schedule is the same as usual: A 16-position bracket for each line (three singles, four doubles) begins Thursday with first-round action, followed by quarterfinals.

Semifinals and playbacks will make for a busy Friday, while all finals and playback finals are on Saturday. Action begins at 9 a.m. each day, weather permitting.

The team dual finals are set for Tuesday, Oct. 17 at Denver Tennis Park.

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This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado tennis: Fossil Ridge regional sweep leads state qualifiers