Niwot boys tennis seeded 7th at State

Coach Aimee Hites was happy with the way her Niwot boys tennis squad finished out the regular season, and even happier with the Cougars' No. 7 seed for the state playoffs.

"I really like our seed," Hites said. "I'm happy to be on the other side of Kent Denver," which is the No. 1 seed in Class 4A.

In the final week of the regular season, the Cougars lost to Kent Denver, 5-2, with Niwot wins coming from LiChen Liao at No. 1 singles and Charlie Kirtland at No. 3 singles. Niwot followed with dominating victories over Mullen, 6-1, and Riverdale Ridge, 7-0.

Under CHSAA's new format, in effect for the past few years, teams qualify for state based on a seeding process rather than regionals, and individuals play later for individual titles.

Niwot's squad will host No. 10 seed George Washington on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 3:30 p.m on the Cougars' home courts. The winner will advance to play the winner of No. 2 seed Colorado Academy and No. 15 seed Golden on Friday, Sept. 29.

The Cougar lineup will feature Liao at No. 1 singles, Oskar Hansen at No. 2 singles, and Kirtland at No. 3 singles. Doubles players are Sebastian Moy and Kyle Davidson at the No. 1 slot, Rex Wallington and Ollie Jones at the No. 2 doubles position, Lauritz Stranzenbach and Manan Gangwar at No. 3 doubles, and Gabe Bandera and Tyler Chivakula at No. 4 doubles.

"Tyler didn't play the first two matches of the season," Hites said of Chivakula. "He makes our four doubles very strong."