The level of play in boys tennis rose noticeably across Aurora in the 2024 season, but Regis Jesuit remained the standard when it comes to locals.
Coach Laura Jones’ Raiders — who found success in both the Class 5A team and individual state tournaments — had all seven lines earn first team honors on the 2024 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Boys Tennis Team, which is based on results of both tournaments.
For the second straight season, Regis Jesuit finished as the team state runner-up, as it dropped a dramatic 4-3 decision to the Cherry Creek for its only dual loss on the season, while all three singles players and four doubles teams placed in the top three in the individual state tournament, which included two state champs.
— Find the full 2024 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Boys Tennis Teams, here
Sophomore Alec Rodriguez-Fields, who moved up a spot from his first varsity season into the No. 1 singles position, led the way for Regis Jesuit. He capped an outstanding individual season with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Pine Creek freshman phenom Braylon Desquitado, who came into the match undefeated.
In 26 matches, Rodriguez-Fields suffered just three losses on the season, two of which came to Kent Denver star and 4A No. 1 singles state champion Nathan Gold and the other came in the team state final to Cherry Creek’s Charlie Stern.
The arrival of talented freshman twins Blake and Sebastian Wright created a big shuffling of the lineup for Regis Jesuit, as they earned the Nos. 2 and 3 singles spots, respectively.
Fittingly, the Wrights had almost identical seasons and both earned the same runner-up finish in the individual state tournament.
Blake Wright’s season was near-perfect, as he triumphed in all of his matches save the No. 2 individual final, where he fell to Cherry Creek’s Jack Loehr 6-3, 6-4, just two days before he won by virtually the same score in the team final.
Sebastian Wright dropped consecutive matches to Cherry Creek’s Aidan Washer in the individual and team state matches (both in three sets) and finished with just three losses on the season, all to Washer, who he beat once.
The abundance of singles talent created a super No. 1 doubles duo for Regis Jesuit of junior Clay Dickey and sophomore Vlad Sukhovetskyy, who played Nos. 1 and 3 singles, respectively, last season.
Sukhovetskyy was a state champion individually as a freshman and he ended up as part of a third-place No. 1 doubles team with Dickey, who earned his first state medal when the Raiders steamrolled past Fairview’s Ian Schwartz and Sam Rich in the third-place match. Sukhovetskyy and Dickey’s individual title quest was waylaid in a three-set semifinal by Cherry Creek’s Luke Norford and Trevor Robinson, who they were able to turn the tables on in the team state final with a 6-4, 6-4 victory.
The No. 2 doubles team consisted of senior KC Eckenhausen and junior Adam Rydel, who finished as the 5A individual state runner-up behind the Cherry Creek team of Wills Possehl and Tyson Hardy. Eckenhausen and Rydel rebounded with a 6-3, 6-4 win over the Bruins in the team state match.
Eckenhausen finished in the top three in all four of his varsity seasons, which included a state championship in his freshman season, while Rydel has three top-three finishes and counting.
The No. 3 doubles team of senior Carl Siegel and sophomore Edward Samuelson played together for the first time this season and went all the way to the individual state championship match, where they lost a three-setter to Cherry Creek’s Sam Migliaccio and Devan Shah, who also rallied to beat them in the team state final in the match that decided the final outcome.
Siegel dropped a spot in the lineup after two seasons at No. 2, but finished as runner-up for a second straight campaign, while it was Samuelson’s first state medal.
The No. 4 doubles team of seniors Spencer Buege and Aiden Prananta each played just one varsity season for Regis Jesuit, but it was an impactful one.
The duo captured the 5A state championship at their position with a 7-6, 6-4 triumph over Cherry Creek’s Mitch Kelly and Truman Wooden, who were able to flip the result in the team state championship final.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
