AURORA | The 2024 prep boys tennis season for Aurora teams at a glance:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2024 AURORA BOYS TENNIS SEASON AT A GLANCE
Teams: Hinkley is the lone Aurora boys tennis program in the Class 4A classification, while Cherokee Trail, Eaglecrest, Grandview, Overland, Rangeview, Regis Jesuit, Smoky Hill and Vista PEAK Prep compete in Class 5A.
Coaches: Cherokee Trail — Eric Olsen-Dufour; Eaglecrest — Dave Palmer; Grandview — Jeff Ryan; Overland — Arlandus Lowe; Rangeview — Phil Elbein; Regis Jesuit — Laura Jones; Smoky Hill — Jeff Davis; Vista PEAK Prep — Patrick Flynn
Regular season/postseason: The boys tennis regular season began Aug. 15 and will be played through Oct. 3. The 16 teams that qualify for team state tournaments in each classification will be seeded on Sept. 30 and begin play on Oct. 1, with second rounds matches to follow Oct. 4, semifinals on Oct. 15 and the state championship dual on Oct. 22 at the Denver Tennis Park. Finish in the regular season will determine the fields for the individual regional state qualifying tournaments, which will be played between Oct. 9-12. Players to advance through regionals will complete in the individual state tournaments Oct. 17-19 (Class 4A at Pueblo City Park, Class 5A at Denver Tennis Park).
Last year: Only one Aurora area team qualified for the Class 5A team state tournament last season in Regis Jesuit, which defeated Fruita Monument, Chaparral and Fossil Ridge to advance all the way to the state championship dual match and fell to rival Cherry Creek 4-1 in a match played at the Denver Tennis Park. …Players from Cherokee Trail, Grandview and Regis Jesuit (a combined six singles players and six doubles teams) qualified for the 5A individual state tournament. Regis Jesuit’s Vlad Sukhovetskyy won the 5A state title at No. 3 singles, while teammates Alec Rodriguez-Fields (No. 2 singles), Agustin Azcui and Brady Jenkins (No. 1 doubles), KC Eckenhausen and Carl Siegel (No. 2 doubles) and Adam Rydel and Kevin Solichien (No. 3 doubles) all were runners-up at their respective positions. Grandview had a 5A No. 1 singles individual state finalist for the second year in a row in Justin Son, who placed second. All of the championship finalists save for Azcui and Jenkins were underclassmen, while Regis Jesuit’s third-place No. 4 doubles team of Tyler Ryan and Bennett Cherveny also graduated.
News and notes: Now a sophomore, Rodriguez-Fields has moved up to the No. 1 singles position this season for Regis Jesuit, while freshman twins Blake and Sebastian Wright will play Nos. 2 and 3 singles, respectively. Sukhovetskyy, Eckenhausen, Rydel, Siegel and junior Clay Dickey (last season’s No. 1 singles player, who also qualified for the state tournament) will be in the doubles mix. …The Colorado High School Activities Association’s Class 5A preseason coaches poll included two Aurora teams as Regis Jesuit comes in ranked No. 1, while Grandview is No. 10. …Regis Jesuit will have home matches again after it played last season at Colorado Athletic Club-Monaco.
Look back: Full 2023 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Boys Tennis Team, here
