DENVER | The Grandview boys tennis program had never had a finalist at the Class 5A state tournament until last season, but now it has had two in the past two years and both at No. 1 singles.
Eduard Tsaturyan won a state title in 2022 in his one and only season with coach Jeff Ryan’s Wolves and he helped elevate the level of play of then-freshman Justin Son, who moved into the No. 1 position this season as a sophomore and thrived.
Son earned his way into Saturday morning’s state championship match against Broomfield senior Kai Trujillo, with whom he had warmed up with for play on the first two days of the three-day tournament on the courts at City Park.
In head-to-head matchups, Son had prevailed over Trujillo in a third-set tiebreak when they played Sept. 8 at the Greeley West Invitational, but it was Trujillo who won the rematch as he posted a 6-2, 6-3 victory on the big stage. The matchup was the only championship match that did not involve a player or team from powerhouses Cherry Creek, Regis Jesuit or Valor Christian.
Son suffered just his second loss of the season — the other came at the Tom Moore Memorial back in August — after he won his region, then defeated Pine Creek’s Gurman Goraya (6-0, 6-3 in the first round), Cale Brush of Arapahoe (6-1, 5-7, 6-4 in the quarterfinals) and Regis Jesuit’s Clay Dickey (6-3, 7-6 in the semifinals) at the state tournament.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports