Panther boys tennis is over for season

Panther boys tennis is over for season

Oct 13, 2001

STAFF REPORT

The tennis season is over for the boys from Montezuma-Cortez High School. Their season ended at the Class 4A Western Slope Regionals which was held in Grand Junction Oct. 4-5.

"Overall, this year’s boys’ team played well and probably should have qualified several for state, but they ran into trouble when in positions to close out a set or match," MCHS first-year head coach Jim Harkendorff said. "(Jeff) Anderson, (David) Wilcken, (Devin) Perkins, (Sean) Carey, and (Seth) Hollar were all at their peak of the season. They were all challenged by the mental aspect of tennis."

For the first time in school history, the Steamboat Springs High School tennis team won all seven individual regional titles and advanced its entire team for this week’s Class 4A State Championships in Pueblo.

The Sailors won the Region 8 title for the fourth consecutive season on Oct. 4 at the Elliott Tennis Center at Mesa State College.

No. 1 singles player Rich Tifft won his fourth No. 1 singles regional title with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Nate Balk of Montrose. Tifft, who took third in state as a freshman, won despite coming off recent shoulder surgery.

Five others have qualified for the fourth time while the No. 4 doubles team of Patrick Ayers and Jonathan Soloman are going for the first time. Both are freshmen.

Montrose, which took second with 57 points, qualified five positions for the state tournament, including No. 1 singles player Nate Balk and No. 3 singles player Matt Smith. Smith played No. 3 doubles last year.

Cory Myrtle and Eloy Celis of Hotchkiss-Paonia became the first players from a Delta County high school to qualify for state in the program's three-year history as a sanctioned sport. Celis and Myrtle are more than doubles partners, they have been best friends since the seventh grade. They played No. 1 doubles together as sophomores and were singles players last year, taking their share of losses.

Aspen's No. 2 singles player Andy Trautner also qualified for state with a second-place finish.

Representing Montezuma-Cortez High School at Regionals were no. 1 singles player Billy Innis, no. 2 singles Anderson, and no. 3 singles Troy Tanner. Competing in doubles will be no. 1 team of Wilcken-Perkins, no. 2 Carey-Hollar, no. 3 Noah Rauscher and Mark Sturdevant, and no. 4 Kirk Archibeque and Jacob Conrads.

Anderson came the closest to earning a spot a State. He lost in the playback semifinals to Montrose, a player he had defeated twice previously during the regular season.

Carey-Hollar also lost in the playback semifinals to Aspen. Anderson and the Carey-Hollar team received a fourth-place ribbon from Regionals.

Wilcken-Perkins played probably their best tennis of the season, according to Harkendorff. They were knocked out of contention by a good Hotchkiss team which earned a trip to State.

"They (Wilcken-Perkins) had several opportunities to put the match, but couldn’t convert. The third set came down to a tiebreaker, which they lost 7-9," he reported.

Innis lost 6-7, 3-6 to a Cedaredge player and was out of the tournament. Tanner fell lost to a Montrose player 3-6, 0-6. Tanner then lost to Hotchkiss 3-6, 3-6 and was out.

Rauscher-Sturdevant lost to Montrose 1-6, 5-7 and lost to Delta 1-6, 4-6 and were ousted. Archibeque-Conrads lost to Montrose 4-6, 2-6 and lost to Delta by the identical score.

Ricky Carver will be back coaching the MCHS girls’ tennis team come this spring.