Even though it was a loss, for Grand Junction’s No. 2 doubles team of Jake Frankhouser and Greg Coleman it was the verification they needed.

The pair lost to Fairview’s Will Lindsay and Christopher Cartwright 6-2, 7-5 in the No. 2 doubles final in the Western Slope Invitational Saturday at the Elliott Tennis Center at Mesa State College.

“This shows me we can compete with the top competition,” Coleman said. “It also lets the other teams know that we are here, sometimes Western Slope teams get overlooked.”

Frankhouser and Coleman played well at times during the match but found themselves making unforced errors which cost them at certain moments in the match. The pair won the first game in each set but couldn’t capitalize off the momentum.

“Fairview had a strong team and our kids played well but just made a few mistakes we can’t afford to make,” Grand Junction coach Carol Elliott said. “But we are right there with some of those top doubles teams so we are pretty excited about that.”

While the Tigers didn’t get it done on Saturday, they are in their second year of playing doubles together and between Coleman’s offense prowess and Frankhouser’s senior leadership, the two have heightened expectations for this season.

“They struggled a lot last year with each other,” Elliott said. “This season they have done a lot better picking each other’s games up.”

Making their run to the championship match more impressive was the fact that they played all Front Range teams. Friday, Frankhouser and Coleman defeated Ralston Valley 6-0, 6-0, then defeated Air Academy 6-4, 6-2 and Cherry Creek's No. 2 team 6-3, 3-6, 10-4 to make the championship.

“This was a warm-up for state,” Frankhouser said. “We know now what to look for.”

The No. 2 doubles team was Grand Junction’s top finish in the tournament but Elliott said she was happy overall with her team’s performance. The Tigers finished seventh as a team with 96 team points.

“I thought everyone played well, the singles are up against some high caliber kids but the fact we go out there and compete is exciting to see,” Elliott said. “We have some things we to correct and we got about three to four weeks to get that done and we will.”

In other championship matches, Heritage’s Zach Pendleton took home the championship at No. 1 singles, defeating Cherry Creek’s Harry Jewett 6-3, 6-2. The two have played and practiced against each other, so the match became taking advantage of the few mistakes that were made.

“I had played Harry before so I went in there and knew I had to play tough,” Pendleton said, “knowing I was going to have to scramble and get my shots in. I had to focus on what I had to do and focus on me.”

Pendleton, like most other players who did well at the tournament, said the success at the Western Slope will give him a boost of optimism as the season continues.

“I take away a lot of confidence,” Pendleton said. “I came to this tournament looking to show up and play pretty good. I walk away winning it and have a real confidence-booster, but I see how hard I have to work.”

Although the Bruins lost the No. 1 singles, Cherry Creek took home the team title with a team score of 250. Taylor Sargent won at No. 2 singles and Connor Macey took home the No. 3 singles title.

“There is a lot of pressure to try and carry the tradition (of the school),” Sargent said. “Thirty-four out of 36 (state) championships, there is pressure to keep that going, so everyone does they best they can.”

Cherry Creek also took home the No. 1 doubles and No. 3 doubles titles.

“We had just lost to Kent (Denver) which was a big blow, so we needed this as a reassurance we could play,” Sargent said.

Fairview came in second with 183 team points, Heritage finished third at 136.

TEAM SCORES

1. Cherry Creek I 250; 2. Fairview 183; 3. Heritage 136; 4. Denver East 109; 5. Cherry Creek II 108; 6. Steamboat Springs 107; 7. Grand Junction 96; 8. Chatfield 80; 9. Fruita Monument 74; 10. Air Academy 70; 11. Greeley West 54; 12. Ralston Valley 50.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

No. 1 Singles: Zach Pendleton, Heritage, def. Harry Jewett, Cherry Creek 6-3, 6-2.

No. 2 Singles: Taylor Sargent, Cherry Creek, def. Marko Sorovic, Fairview 6-1, 6-1.

No. 3 Singles: Connor Macey, Cherry Creek, def. Steven Cartwright, Fairview 6-1, 6-0.

No. 1 Doubles: Dakota Jones/Brian Maierhofer, Cherry Creek, def. JB Bair/Dillon McNamara, Heritage 6-2,6-2.

No. 2 Doubles: Will Lindsay/Christopher Cartwright, Fairview, def. Greg Coleman/Jake Frankhouser, Grand Junction 6-2, 7-5.

No. 3 Doubles: Zach Chernow/Reid Spitz, Cherry Creek, def. Jack Greene/Keith Podgorski, Cherry Creek 2 6-0, 6-1.

No. 4 Doubles: Even Rush/Will Kuelthau, Fairview, def. Barrett Hubregsen/JJ Westcott, Denver East.

THIRD-PLACE MATCHES

No. 1 Singles: Dave Warren, Fairview, def. Eric Honert, Ralston Valley.

No. 2 Singles: Jensen Teague, Chatfield, def. Keegan Burger, Steamboat Springs.

No. 3 Singles: Scott Holmes, Chatfield, def. Jeff Lambart, Steamboat Springs.

No. 1 Doubles: Spencer Erickson/Taylor Williams, Denver East, def. Sam Morgan/Charlie Reicks, Grand Junction 6-0, 6-1.

No. 2 Doubles: Scott Rothbarth/Jack Robinson, Cherry Creek, def. Seth Snyder/Will Holliday, Cherry Creek 2 6-2, 6-3.

No. 3 Doubles: Woody Oliver/Brian Zook, Heritage, def. Daruis Fugere/Matt Friesen, Grand Junction.

No. 4 Doubles: Ben Halvorson/Jordan Beberfeld, Cherry Creek, def. Sam Dechtman/Sean O’Brian, Cherry Creek 6-3, 6-0.

For more, go to Grand Junction Sentinel sports

Back to Top