The Greeley West boys tennis team had Wednesday’s match with Longmont - last year’s conference champs – circled on its calendar. After a 4-3 victory over Windsor, it was the next big match to see how the Spartans stacked up in league play.
So imagine the Spartans’ surprise when Longmont showed up Tuesday to play.
In the end, the crossed up schedules didn’t matter. Greeley West’s No 1 doubles team of Eli Torrez and Mateo Vasquez handily won their doubles match on Tuesday, and the West singles players swept Longmont on Wednesday to complete another 4-3 victory. West improved to 2-0 in match play on the young season and are undefeated in the Class 4A NCAA conference.
Torrez and Vasquez were excited for their match against a Longmont squad that made the quarterfinals at State last season. The Trojans won just three games in the 6-2, 6-1 drubbing. Spartans coach Ryan Pace called the performance the best he’d seen from the duo, and the players agreed.
“Our communication is the best it’s been at and we just kinda play our game, Vasquez said. “We made them play our game and it rattled them.”
Torrez said that it was clear Longmont wanted to control the net, but the Spartans took that option away early and often. “We were aggressive and moved to the net. We beat them there and won each point from there,” Torrez said.
Vasquez and Torrez have been doubles pairs since they started playing tennis as freshmen. Last year, they qualified for state at No. 2 doubles, but lost in the first round to a tough Mullen team. Because of Covid protocols, there were no playbacks last season, so Torrez and Vasquez were one-and-done. Both players talked about the importance of making it back this year. “If we push for it, we can really get there,” Vasquez said.
The partners are friends off the court and both players say that gives them a strong competitive edge in their matches. “Off the court we’re really close, “Vasquez said. “A lot of people play with a tennis partner, but we’re more than that. It’s why we work well together.
Torrez added that their friendship allows them to communicate without talking. You don’t have to talk much because we read each other and make moves based on that,” Torrez said. We work quick as a team and talk when we need to, which isn’t that much.”
In addition to the No 1 doubles win, Spartans single players Ashtyn Denovellis (6-4, 6-4), Alex Dhupar (6-1, 6-1), and Cole Bartels (6-1, 6-3) won their matches to propel West to the win.
The Spartans will take their undefeated record to Silver Creek next Tuesday for more conference action. Two days later, West will host it’s own invitational at multiple sites in Greeley.
Greeley West 4, Longmont 3
No. 1 Singles - Ashtyn Denovellis (GWHS) def. Thomas Marshall, 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 Singles - Ale Dhupar (GWHS) def. Tristan Rangel, 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 Singles - Cole Bartels (GWHSdef. Andrew Brown, 6-1, 6-3
No. 1 Doubles - Eli Torrez/Mateo Vasquez (GWHS) def. Luke Riddle/Henry Harshberger, 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 Doubles - Hugo Macias/Wyatt Saunders (LHS) def. Hunter Clark/Champ Segura, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 Doubles - Andrew Jujawa/Sawyer Walcott (LHS) def. Theo Hirsh/Eddie Hart, 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 Doubles - Owen Jones/Jack Kujawa (LHS) def. River Ortiz/Canada Po, 6-2, 6-4