BOULDER | Grandview sophomore singles players Justin Son and Carter Benton earned their way into the Class 5A boys tennis individual state tournament out of the Region 7 tournament that concluded Thursday.
Son qualified for the individual state tournament last season at No. 3 singles and is back again, this time in the top singles position, where coach Jeff Ryan’s Wolves graduated Eduard Tsaturyan, last season’s state champion.
Son made it to state — which is scheduled for Oct. 12-14 at City Park in Denver — with a championship in the Region 7 tournament in which he defeated Rock Canyon’s Will Strabel 6-0, 6-1 in the title match.
Benton played at No. 4 doubles last season and moved all the way up to No. 3 singles, where he is state-bound after finishing as the Region 7 runner-up.
Following a first-round bye, Benton outlasted Rock Canyon’s Dax Hayward for a 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-1 semifinal victory to earn a spot opposite Fairview’s Ben Mei Dan in the title match. Mei Dan prevailed 6-1, 6-3, but Benton’s state spot was secure when Hayward won the third-place match to take away the possibility of a playback.
Benton’s old partner, senior Mohammed Batthef, and his new partner, senior Atharv Peroor, fell just short of making it to state themselves at No. 2 doubles. The duo placed third with an epic come-from-behind 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) win over Rock Canyon’s Lleyton Couch and Gavin Ross and had the right to challenge Columbine’s Santiago Gomez and Sebastian Lopez, who lost in the regional final.
The Columbine duo won the playoff, however, with a 6-4, 6-2 decision.
Grandview’s No. 1 doubles team of seniors Joe Alie and Chad Campbell placed third with a three-set victory over Rock Canyon’s Ian Gruszczynski and Ravi Khotra, but could not get a playback chance after losing to regional runner-up Brady Dobson and Brody Rogers of Columbine in the semifinals.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2023 CLASS 5A REGION 7 BOYS TENNIS TOURNAMENT
Oct. 4-5 at Fairview H.S./South Boulder Rec Center
Championship matches (winner automatically advances to state)
No. 1 singles — JUSTIN SON (GRANDVIEW) def. Will Strabel (Rock Canyon), 6-0, 6-1; No. 2 singles — Adhrit Sundaresan (Fairview) def. Jonas Thelander (Rock Canyon), 6-1, 6-0; No. 3 singles — Ben Mai Dan (Fairview) def. CARTER BENTON (GRANDVIEW), 6-1, 6-3; No. 1 doubles — Noah Bodner/Cecil Carroll (Fairview) def. Brady Dobson/Brody Rogers (Columbine), 6-0, 6-3; No. 2 doubles — Jake Boston/Charlie Gomulka (Fairview) def. Santiago Gomez/Sebastian Lopez (Columbine), 6-3, 6-2; No. 3 doubles — Ian Schwartz/Sam Rich (Fairview) def. Sanay Shah/Suraj Soni (Rock Canyon), 6-2, 6-0; No. 4 doubles — Christopher Fitzgerald/Kai Rajpal (Fairview), 6-1, 7-6 (2)
Third-place matches
No. 1 singles — Caden Bell (Fairview) def. Ethan Ploetz (Fountain-Fort Carson), 6-3, 6-2; No. 2 singles — Ian Alexander (Columbine) def. Chase Habib (Fountain-Fort Carson), 6-3, 6-1; No. 3 singles — Dax Hayward (Rock Canyon) def. Jason Ploetz (Fountain-Fort Carson), 6-2, 6-3; No. 1 doubles — JOE ALIE/CHAD CAMPBELL (GRANDVIEW) def. Ian Gruszczynski/Ravi Khotra (Rock Canyon), 6-7, 6-2, 6-0; No. 2 doubles — MOHAMMED BATHHEF/ATHARV PEROOR (GRANDVIEW) def. Lleyton Couch/Gavin Ross (Rock Canyon), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4); No. 3 doubles — Parker Lovely/Jacob Moskowitz (Columbine) def Jonas Crampton/Robert Taylor (Doherty), 6-1, 6-0; No. 4 doubles — Brayden Ballard/Sam Yager (Columbine) def. Cayson Kastl/Rylan Gufarotti (Doherty), 6-1, 6-1
Playback (winner advances to state)
No. 1 singles — Caden Bell (Fairview) def. Will Strabel (Rock Canyon), 6-3, 6-0; No. 2 doubles — Santiago Gomez/Sebastian Lopez (Columbine) def. MOHAMMED BATHHEF/ATHARV PEROOR (GRANDVIEW), 6-4, 6-2