Regional tennis arrives as Basalt hopes to add to state qualifiers

Jacob Roggie has been on the doorstep of qualifying for the state tournament before. This week, the senior on the Basalt High School boys tennis team hopes to finally break through.

“All four years kind of built up to this moment, so it’s big, but you don’t want to think about that too much because of the pressure,” he said during Monday’s practice at Stott’s Mill. “I know the people I’m up against. I’ve played them. I think I just need to play my game, play smart, and I can beat them.”

Roggie, who has been playing varsity for the Longhorns since he was a freshman, is one of 11 BHS athletes competing in the Class 4A, Region 8 tournament on Wednesday and Thursday in Grand Junction. The top two finishers per each flight qualify for the Oct. 17-19 state tournament in Pueblo.

Roggie will play Aspen junior Daane Reische in the first round at No. 2 singles on Wednesday.

“We are hoping to peak at regionals, and it all comes down to how we play on Wednesday, then hopefully we are playing Thursday,” BHS coach Jon Zalinski said. “We’ve got a strong varsity team. I’m excited for them to spread their wings.”

Basalt boys tennis is still relatively new, having started as a club team in 2017, the result of a junior capstone project by former player Dane Elliott. It became an official varsity sport in 2018.

The program’s first state qualifiers came in 2021, when freshmen Taylor Hays and Elias Schendler both qualified at No. 4 doubles. They even won their first-round match that year, eventually bowing out in the playbacks.

The BHS boys tennis program is a district-wide team, meaning players can come from multiple different area schools, including Colorado Rocky Mountain School, Roaring Fork, and Glenwood Springs.

“I feel great. The nerves are there,” said senior Ethan Ganley, who is playing team tennis for the first time this fall. He competes at No. 4 doubles alongside sophomore Ethan Thomson. “As a first-timer coming into tennis, I was kind of nervous. I didn’t know a lot of people; my friend brought me in here. I didn’t think it was going to be very fun, I guess you could say, but I was surprised it was actually really fun and I met a lot of cool people, met a lot of friends, and it just feels like a big family.”

Basalt’s regional lineup this week is led by junior Fritz Simmons (1-12 record) at No. 1 singles. He plays Steamboat’s Liam Siefken in the first round. Roggie (5-8) comes in at No. 2 singles, while freshman Isaac Zevin (4-9) is at No. 3 singles and will face Steamboat’s Ibrokhim Nuriddinov in the first round.

The No. 1 doubles team is made of junior AJ Lott and sophomore Hank Bielenberg (1-12). At No. 2 doubles it is senior Mikal Martin and sophomore Luke Incze (6-7). Martin, who attends classes at Liberty, has been one of the more consistent presences on the BHS team the past few seasons.

“As a senior, I don’t think I’m prepared to leave, but it’s definitely nice to see people coming in and recognizing the organization for what it is,” he said. “I’m feeling great, really. Me and Luke have worked really hard, and I believe we’ll be able to go to state.”

No. 3 doubles is made of freshman Tyler Portman and senior Chadwick New (5-8), and No. 4 doubles is the combo that goes by “Ethan Squared” with Thomson and Ganley (4-9).

“Played pretty well on Saturday and just been getting better the whole season,” said New, another first-year player for the Longhorns headed to regionals for the first time. “It will be fun, but it’s a little nerve-wracking, final games of the season, big tournament. But it will be good.”

Aspen’s regional roster

Aspen, which had a handful of state qualifiers a year ago, led by then-senior Chase Kelly at No. 1 singles, also has a full contingent competing at regionals this week.

AHS freshman Gaspar Riboud will play No. 1 singles and faces Durango’s Nate Claassen in the first round. After Reische at No. 2 singles, Aspen has junior Jasper McBride playing at No. 3 singles against Grand Junction Central’s Ronan Norman.

Aspen’s doubles teams are made of Francesco Freedman and Christopher Andrews (No. 1); Nicholas Stephens and Luke Abbaszadeh (No. 2); Gavin Smith and Bo Pfaffmann (No. 3); and Chase Slesinger-Hall and Soren Tudge (No. 4).

Looking for tennis girls

With Chris Kilgore, the former Basalt coach, leading both the boys and girls programs in Aspen, Shelley Lundh Freeman and Adele Melnick have taken over the BHS girls tennis program as co-head coaches.

Freeman, who is also an assistant with the BHS boys, is already heavily recruiting for the spring season, and encourages any girls interested in joining the team to reach out via email at sladvent@rof.net or amelnick@rfschools.com.

acolbert@aspentimes.com