TJ does well at invitational only to fall in dual play.
by Robert Lampert
photo by Kevin Fleming
The boys’ tennis team found itself with its back against the wall after dropping its first two matches, yet the revamped Spartan team topped Montbello with a clean sweep in every singles and doubles position.
The boys, under the leadership of coach Joel Belmer, took charge of the match after sweeping all singles matches. These wins gave the peace of mind to doubles players, knowing only one of four duos were required a single victory to take the match. Even so, the boys stepped up with a dominating performance as the Spartans sealed the victory 7-0.
The boys then hoped to carry that success into their match against top ranked Denver East this past Tuesday. While the boys fought hard, the Angels of East brought their “A” game to the courts, sweeping the Spartans 7-0. The match was close going into the latter part of the doubles, unfortunately the boys came out on the short end of the stick. “We can’t let a loss at this point in the season stick with us too long if we plan on taking a top seed in regionals. The defeat is already behind us as we look forward to Denver South,” said #2 singles player, Mitch Montgomery.
The boys did just that as the Spartans then battled it out against Denver South at TJ September 17, as they pulled out a win with a score of 4-3. The match came down to one game as the score was tied 3-3 going into the final doubles match. But the Spartans showed their resilience once again as they pulled out the win.
The Spartans were also one of four teams to compete in the Rebel Invitational on September 13 at South High School. Other teams to compete were Littleton, Bishop Machebeuf, and Denver South. The boys pulled off a sweep of Machebeuf, a win over South, and fell to Littleton, snagging them 2nd place at the Invitational. Tournaments such as the Rebel Invitational are invite only, meaning only top teams are requested to play. They also give the teams a chance to snag some much-needed practice outside of conference matches. “Invitationals such as these are great practice for the team and allow us to build some steam going into dual play,” said senior #1 doubles player, P.J. Sleichter.
The Spartans’ strong performance even earned them an invite to the Lincoln Invitational this past weekend, Saturday September 20 at Abraham Lincoln High School. This is an invitational known to bring out some of the region’s most promising talent. Teams competing in the invitational were Denver South, Conifer, Denver East, Alameda, Kennedy, Lincoln and George Washington. The positions were split up over four locations all over the Denver metro area. At the end of the day, GW took the most 1st place titles, giving them the top spot. TJ performed well with 5th, 6th and 7th place wins in all positions. The Lincoln invitational was certainly a great opportunity for the team to practice while playing under pressure that only regional competition brings.
You can look for the boys in dual play once again September 23, 2008 at 4:00 p.m., as the Spartans take on Denver North High School at North.
The team has high expectations going into the mid-stretch of the season, and they’ll have to hold on tight given they have yet to meet some of the top ranked teams in DPL. But don’t be fooled, the team moral could not be higher at this point in the season. “This team rules, plain and simple,” said coach Belmer. As you can see the boys are fearless as they enter a clutch stretch where every match counts before regional play this October.
