Niwot boys clinch 11th straight regional tennis title

The Niwot boys tennis team punched its ticket to the Class 4A state championships with a rousing team win at the 2021 Region 5 tournament, held at the home courts on Oct. 6-7. Led by junior Luke Weber at No. 1 singles, five of the Cougars' seven lines claimed individual titles, which was good for 87 points and first place in the team standings, as well as five top seeds at the upcoming state tournament at Pueblo's City Park, Oct. 14-16. Afterwards, Weber said that he is excited to battle for a second state title, even if playing in the top bracket means facing new challenges.

"There's a lot of pressure on me. I've got to go out and lead the team, and I have to go out and show people who the one seed is. And there's always a bunch of pressure on the one seed, because you're supposed to win."

Weber said that he did his best to ignore the pressure going into the finals match at regionals, but it may have been a factor early on. Facing junior Roee Sala of Prospect Ridge, Weber took the opening game, but Sala was able to take advantage of a few critical lapses, and Niwot's new No. 1 player suddenly found himself on the wrong end of a 6-2 score.

"I was playing too much to his strengths," Weber said of his loss in the first set. "So I just decided to mix it up, start over, and treat it like it's a completely new match."

The reset worked, and Weber went on to defeat Sala 6-3, 6-0 in the next two matches to claim his first regional title at No. 1 singles

"I just started rolling balls, playing more consistently, and bringing him to the net more," Weber said. "Just resetting was my number one priority going into the second set."

Weber will be making his third appearance at the Class 4A tennis championships, but his first at No. 1 singles. In 2020, he captured the state title at No. 3 singles, a key factor in Niwot's eventual team win of the team title. During the 2021 regular season, he won six matches at his new position, but was challenged at statewide tournaments. With so much turnover from last year, Weber is not sure what to expect at state next week, so, like he did at regionals, he's only going to look as far ahead as the next match.

"Sometimes under confidence can be my weakness," Weber said. "I just have to go in there treating myself as just as good as everyone else. There, anyone can beat anyone. Super, crazy unexpected matches happen at state, so I just want to play the best tennis I can."

Weber will be joined in Pueblo by LiChen Liao, who beat Dexy Payne of Centaurus 6-2, 6-1 to take the No. 2 singles crown. The sophomore will be making his second appearance at state, but the first as a singles player. Also new to singles is senior Alan Wilcox, a regional champion at No. 3 singles. He will be making a fourth and final trip to state for Niwot.

In doubles, Niwot's no. 2, Sebastian Moy and Kyle Davidson, beat Davyn Walker and Ethan Graham of Erie to win their first regional title, while Rex Wallington and Ollie Jones were the winners in the No. 4 bracket. Both pairs will be making the trip to Pueblo.

Unfortunately, Niwot's No. 1 doubles pair of junior Ryan Gray and senior Raaghav Agrawal fell in a consolation match, and will not advance to the state championships, while the Cougars' No. 3 pair had to forfeit due to an injury in the consolation finals, and had to settle for being state alternates.

The Cougars begin their quest for the 2021 state title on Thursday, Oct. 14. For more information or to see the state pairings, visit the boys tennis section at CHSAAnow.com.

See more photos from the Class 4A Region 5 tennis championships here.