H.S. boys tennis preview: Cheyenne Mountain looks to dominate again

Any discussion of Colorado Springs-area boys tennis must begin, as it has for at least the past 16 years, with Cheyenne Mountain.

Every other 4A team, as coaches are fond of saying, will fight for second place.

The Indians, after all, have dominated, bringing home 13 of the past 16 state titles, including last year's championship.

"We've had a good run here the past few years," 20-year veteran coach Dave Adams said. "We're fortunate to have a good feeder program and kids who come from a socioeconomic position that allows them to concentrate on developing their games."

That run might be threatened this fall.

Cheyenne Mountain lost its top three singles players from a year ago, and the Indians' perennial state rival, Kent Denver, returns a full singles contingent.

"We did lose all three of our singles players, and I can't remember the last time that happened," Adams said. "The key for us is to have new singles players step up and to develop chemistry with our doubles teams early in the season. We have our work cut out for us to knock (Kent) off, but we look forward to that challenge."

Adams will rely on seniors Hemal Semwal, Michael Cutter, Ari Halling, Kevin Lynch and John Adams, his son.

Another strong area 4A team should be Lewis-Palmer, which has senior J.D. Dace and sophomore Duy Pham back in singles.

Colorado Springs School and Fountain Valley figure to challenge Cheyenne Mountain when it hosts its regional in early October.

In 5A play, Rampart placed third in its regional last year and returns one of the top individuals in junior Stephen Mullenex, who placed fifth at state last season.

Coach David Baxter said the No. 1 singles player could lead the Rams back to the state tournament as a team.

"Stephen is our best player ever. He didn't lose a match last year until the state tournament," Baxter said. "We're stronger overall as a team. Our kids are really eager and more than happy to get ready."

CLASS 5A
Air Academy: Coach Ron Gorr expects a lot from junior Ben Swain, last year's No. 3 singles player, and senior Jordan Duffy, who played No. 1 doubles.

Coronado: Nine returning lettermen are led by senior No. 1 singles player Brett Askinas and No. 2 singles player Tyler Follon, a junior.

Doherty: The Spartans, coming off a third-place regional finish a year ago, will be led by seniors Logan Keller and David Schmidt, juniors Rob Wilson, Brandon Dale and Josh Sidney and sophomore transfer Miles Peterson.

Fountain-Fort Carson: The Trojans will be led by seniors Spencer Oetjen and Nathan Taylor and sophomore Daniel Smith.

Liberty: Only senior Josh Janard and junior Michael Butler return.

Palmer: New coach Naren Clark will rely on returning varsity players Zachary Lockwood, Max Kaiser and Andrew Byrd.

Pine Creek: The Eagles expect big things from their top three - juniors Andrew Pack and Mason Fitts and sophomore McKay Inman. Coach David Lehman said sophomore Derek Jones, a transfer from New Mexico, could make an impact.

Rampart: No. 1 Stephen Mullenex, a junior, is backed up by senior Sam Van Meter. Juniors Wookhyun "Wooky" Kim and Alex Kinziah are in their third year as doubles partners. Coach David Baxter said freshman Travis Kimsey is a future standout.

Sand Creek: Tryouts are ongoing for new coach Mike Aragon.

CLASS 4A
Cañon City: Seniors Spencer Bradford, Shane Javernick, Kolt Marquardt, Charlie Sverance-Medaris and Brandon Withers return.

Cheyenne Mountain: Coach Dave Adams' dominant team has another talented group of seniors in Hemal Semwal, Michael Cutter, Ari Halling, Kevin Lynch and John Adams, his son. Support comes from sophomore John Moore, Matt Shoemaker and Parker Curry.

Colorado Springs Christian School: Seven seniors graduated from last year's team, which combines with The Vanguard School. Jake Ridderhoff is the lone senior of four returning lettermen.

Colorado Springs School: No. 1 singles player Justin King is back. Juniors Nate Whiteside and Josh Smith will battle for the Nos. 2 and 3 singles spots.

Discovery Canyon: Matt Seigel and Alex Yoder improved during the offseason.

Fountain Valley: Seniors Tyler Dulin and Kevin Lin return and are joined by junior Andy Chou and sophomores Thomas Nunley and Thomas Sickert. Freshman Ryan Siebert leads the newcomers.

Lewis-Palmer: Coach Paul Kardel described No. 1 player J.D. Dace as a "left-handed powerhouse." Dace played at No. 3 last year as a junior. No. 2 singles player Duy Pham, a sophomore, was half of the Rangers' No. 1 doubles team last year. Three other returning lettermen - Parsa Ghasem, Will LaRivee and Brian Kraus - add depth.

Mesa Ridge: No. 1 singles player Phil Long will try to return to the state tournament.

Mitchell: The Marauders' top returning seniors, Tim Eberhart and Brian Ruzycki, will see how they do in the 4A ranks this fall. Seniors Nils Bifano Beasley and Alec Coleman and junior Daniel Trouwborst add depth.

Palmer Ridge: Coach Skip Wells leads the Bears during their inaugural season. Freshman Naveed Ghasem is the likely No. 1.

Wasson: The Thunderbirds did not field a team in 2007. This year's team includes senior Martin McLaughlin, junior Keegan Miller and sophomore Shane Pollard.

Widefield: Senior Marcus Powers hopes to get the Gladiators back above .500. Senior Jason Peterson and junior Michael Aragon lead a team with a lot of parity.