Niwot boys tennis' LiChen Liao and Charlie Kirtland embrace lessons learned at state tournament

Admittedly, LiChen Liao wasn't pleased with the results in the Class 4A boys individual state tennis tournament. He had won the No. 2 singles title last year and his goal was, of course, to defend that title his junior season.

But with a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Kent Denver's Will Moldenhauer, Liao's repeat attempt fell short in the semifinals at City Park in Pueblo on Oct. 14. The Niwot High School No. 2 singles player remained proud, though, knowing his full effort was given.

"Obviously, I was hoping to win it again, but I'm pretty happy with my performance," Liao said.

Liao's ability to keep his head up also helped him defeat Mullen's Patrick Duke in the playbacks bracket (6-0, 6-1) to take third place in the state.

Similar to Liao, freshman Charlie Kirtland also saw his No. 3 singles tournament run come to an end against Kent Denver. After defeating Thomas Jefferson's Caleb Stork in the first round, Kirtland lost a close quarterfinals match to eventual state champion Reed Haymons, 6-3, 7-5.

Liao was impressed by Kirtland's growth throughout his rookie season, which culminated in going toe-to-toe with the top No. 3 singles player in the state.

"He seemed kind of nervous heading in, but he's a freshman, so it's understandable," Liao said. "He actually did pretty well because he lost to Kent, who ended up winning at three singles, and it was a pretty close match."

Niwot senior Luke Weber also yielded to Kent Denver in the No. 1 singles finals match to close out his high school career. With Weber's reign at the No. 1 singles position now complete, both Liao and Kirtland hope to move up a spot in Niwot's singles lineup.

Liao plans to use the difficult finish as fuel for 2023. "I've definitely looked at it as motivation," Liao said. "The only thing I could probably do better is to be better in general."