AURORA | The matchup in the Class 5A boys tennis team state championship is set and it is becoming a regular occurrence.
Like two powerful magnets, Regis Jesuit and Cherry Creek were drawn towards each other in the 16-team bracket and for the third straight season will decide the championship in a 9 a.m. Oct. 21 match at the Denver Tennis Park.
The top-seeded Raiders — who earned their title shot with a 7-0 home sweep of No. 5 Fossil Ridge Tuesday — will try to wrest the championship away from the second-seed Bruins, who have won the head-to-head matchup in each of the past two seasons and have 47 all-time state championships to their credit.
Coach Laura Jones’ Regis Jesuit team’s quest for its sixth all-time state championship and first since 2019 has come with three straight wins by sweep, the latest coming against a Fossil Ridge team that upset No. 4 Grandview in the previous round.
Senior Clay Dickey — who was part of the Raiders’ two previous runner-up teams — started the semifinal victory with a tidy 6-1, 6-1 victory over the SaberCats’ Ian Miller at No. 2 singles, while the next two wins came from junior Alec Rodriguez-Fields at No. 1 singles (with a 6-2, 6-0 defeat of Cadell Webb) and the No. 4 doubles team of junior Connor Hickey and freshman Daniel Hickey.
The clinching victory came from the No. 3 doubles team of junior Beckett Martorella and sophomore Finn Carolan, who closed out a 6-2, 6-2 defeat Fossil Ridge’s Braxton Phillips and Kasey Nelson.
With the result decided, senior No. 3 singles player Adam Rydel and the No. 2 doubles team of junior Edward Samuelson and sophomore Reis Cherveny picked up straight set victories, while the No. 1 doubles team of junior Koops Lord and sophomore Will Larkin prevailed in a third-set tiebreaker to complete the sweep.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2025 CLASS 5A BOYS TENNIS TEAM STATE SEMIFINAL
(1) REGIS JESUIT 7, (5) FOSSIL RIDGE 0
No. 1 singles — Alec Rodriguez-Fields (Regis Jesuit) def. Cadell Webb (Fossil Ridge), 6-2, 6-0; No. 2 singles — Clay Dickey (Regis Jesuit) def. Ian Miller (Fossil Ridge), 6-1, 6-1; No. 3 singles — Adam Rydel (Regis Jesuit) def. Keaton Thomas (Fossil Ridge), 6-4, 6-1; No. 1 doubles — Will Larkin/Koops Lord (Regis Jesuit) def. Diego Pardina/Davis Samuelson (Fossil Ridge), 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 10-1; No. 2 doubles — Edward Samuelson/Reis Cherveny (Regis Jesuit) def. Vedant Manakeshwar/Will Schuster (Fossil Ridge), 6-2, 6-2; No. 3 doubles — Beckett Martorella/Finn Carolan (Regis Jesuit) def. Braxton Phillips/Kasey Nelson (Fossil Ridge), 6-2, 6-2; No. 4 doubles — Connor Hickey/Daniel Hickey (Regis Jesuit) def. Sully Kane/James Lills (Fossil Ridge), 6-3, 6-3
