PUEBLO – In less than an hour, Kent Denver’s Nathan Gold solidified his status as the best high school tennis player in the state.
In the No. 1 singles final at the Class 4A boys tennis individual tournament, Gold cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Niwot’s Luke Weber to win his second title in as many years. A sophomore with the Sun Devils, Gold winning four titles in his career is about as close to a foregone conclusion as one could get at this point.
Weber even knew it. As the runner-up walked off court No. 7 at Pueblo City Park, he made sure Gold was aware of the expectations that everyone will have for him in the coming years.
“You better win four,” Weber said.
It seems like an easy enough task, especially in Gold’s mind. It would be hard to argue that he didn’t consider himself the top singles champion before he even stepped on the court. He’s already faced Weber a few times this season and the results gave him the confidence that things would trend in the same direction.
“I had beaten him pretty badly,” Gold said. “I didn’t know that (today) I would beat him that badly though.”
There wasn’t an onlooker around the court that wasn’t impressed with the young Sun Devil. His serves immediately put Weber on the defensive and every scoring shot he hit landed exactly where it needed to be.
“I think he would have won a pro tournament today,” Niwot coach Aimee Hites said.
Not bad for a kid who legally can’t operate a motor vehicle on his own to even get to his high school tournaments.
The professional world could very well be in Gold’s future someday. But for now, winning four state championships is certainly a goal he has in mind. He’s willing and able to take on any comer that stands across the net from him.
“I’m just looking forward to next year,” Gold said. “Hopefully we’ll get more competition, or at least some new players coming in.”
It’s scary to think about how talented a new player rolling through would have to be in order to dethrone him. Throughout the entire tournament, Gold dropped just seven games. In the championship match, he didn’t lose that many points.
“I was really giving him my all every point,” Gold said. “I think I only lost like five or six points all match.”
It was a good day overall for Kent as it came away with state championships in four positions.
On Tuesday the Sun Devils shift their mindset to an overall team goal. The Sun Devils take on Cheyenne Mountian for the 4A team championship at Denver City Park.
(Dan Mohrmann/ColoradoPreps.com)
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Class 4A boys tennis individual champions:
No 1 singles: Nathan Gold (Kent Denver) def. Luke Weber (Niwot) 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 singles: Fabian Frentz (Colorado Academy) def. Will Moldenhauer (Kent Denver) 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 singles: Reed Haymonds (Kent Denver) def. Zach Sartain (Cheyenne Mountain) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
No. 1 doubles: Charlie May/Michael McKee (Colorado Academy) def. Seb Boada/Tyler Haymons (Kent Denver) 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5)
No. 2 doubles: Mareks Zeile/Jack Cramer (Kent Denver) def. Rowan Brown/Luca Siringo (Colorado Academy) 6-0, 6-2
No. 3 doubles: Cameron Ford/Patrick Gibbs (Cheyenne Mountain) def. Gavin Foonberg/Eddie Strand (George Washington) 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 doubles: Marco Fenton/Liam O’Drobinak (Kent Denver) def. Jake Schultz/Patrick Barker (Cheyenne Mountain) 6-4, 6-1
