Silver Creek High School will have to wait a little longer for the school’s first state title in tennis.
Henry Richter, the Raptors’ no. 3 singles player, was defeated in the semifinals of the 4A Boys Tennis State Tournament by Colorado Academy junior Hendrik Jordaan in a three-set thriller 4-6, 7-5, 4-6.
Aced it:
Henry Richter, a senior at Silver Creek, cruised through day one of the state tournament. The Raptors won both his matches in straight sets, edging Evergreen senior Gordon Salmen 6-2, 6-4 in the first round, then toppling D’Evelyn senior Simon Czarnecki 6-2, 6-3 in the second round.
It’s the type of tennis Richter had been playing all year. In fact, prior to Friday, Richter was undefeated.
Richter was 22-0 this Fall, prior to his semifinal loss. That included winning three tournaments: the Longmont Boys Invitational, the Granite Peaks League Tournament and the CHSAA 4A Region 4 Tournament.
Richter won 19 of those matches in straight sets.
In four of Richter’s 22 matches, he didn’t lose a single game.
For the uninitiated, that means he won both sets in a match 6 games to 0 (6-0, 6-0).
Zooming out:
Silver Creek also had three doubles teams in the tournament. The Raptors’ nos. 2 and 4 doubles teams fell in the first round, while no. 3 doubles pair Tate Kostelecky and Nate Dudas won their first round match, but fell to a pair of juniors from Mullen High School.
No Longmont school has won a state championship in tennis since a Longmont High no. 4 doubles team did it in 1995.
The only other state title? Longmont senior Wayne Coates’ no. 1 singles championship run in 1949.