LONGMONT — Because of who his older brother is, Niwot’s Spencer Lang isn’t sneaking up on any opponents this season.
Spencer Lang, whose older brother Harrison is the defending Class 4A state champion at No. 1 singles, is undefeated at No. 3 singles as a freshman. In fact, it wasn’t until Tuesday that he lost his first game.
“It was just kind of a fun goal,” Lang said of his undefeated streak.
Spencer Lang defeated Silver Creek’s Trevor Arrasmith, 6-0, 6-1 on Tuesday to improve to 3-0 to start his Cougars career. Lang’s opponents aren’t playing him like he’s a greenhorn freshman, and he’s returning the favor.
“I feel like I’m playing on the offensive and I’ve been able to dictate,” Lang said. “It’s been fun.”
The Cougars won the dual 6-1, including a 6-0, 6-0 win by Harrison Lang at the top singles spot.
The Cougars swept the doubles matches. The closest match was at No. 2, where Niwot’s Scott Rutherford and Drew Pasma defeated Patrick Sullivan and Scott Baldwin, 6-3, 6-4.
The Raptors’ won at No. 2 singles, where they dodged a defending state champion. Michael Ogez, the Cougars’ regular No. 2 guy, was away on a college visit to Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
With Ogez out, Noah Grolnick of Silver Creek defeated Alex Pedraza, who was called up from the Cougars’ junior varsity. Grolnick, who battled a bloody nose early on, won the match 6-1, 6-4.
“I had the momentum in the first set pretty well; I was in control,” Grolnick said. “The wind picked up in the second and he kind of came back a little. I lost a little focus, but at 4-3 we had a long deuce and I pulled out there and held on.”
Grolnick, who improved to 4-1, wasn’t surprised Pedraza challenged him. He said Niwot’s top junior varsity player was better than most varsity opponents he’s faced this season.
Pedraza found out via text around midnight the night before that he’d be playing varsity against the Raptors.
“It was pretty much how I’d expected it,” Pedraza said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I tried my best.”
In the first set, Pedraza struggled with double-faults and had trouble getting his forehands in. The junior regained his consistency in the second set, but just couldn’t force a third.
“I enjoyed the experience,” said Pedraza, who transferred to Niwot after attending Silver Creek his freshman year.
Brad Cochi can be reached at bcochi@times-call.com.
NIWOT 6, SILVER CREEK 1
At Silver Creek H.S.
Singles results
No. 1 — Harrison Lang, Niwot, def. Ryan Carson, 6-0, 6-0. No. 2 — Noah Grolnick, Silver Creek, def. Alex Pedraza, 6-1, 6-4. No. 3 — Spencer Lang, Niwot, def. Trevor Arrasmith, 6-0, 6-1.
Doubles results
No. 1 — Matt Londa/Connor Mulshine, Niwot, def. Andrew Meier/Nicolas Hansen, 6-3, 6-2. No. 2 — Scott Rutherford/Drew Pasma, Niwot, def. Patrick Sullivan/Scott Baldwin, 6-3, 6-4. No. 3 — Jesse Jones/Trevor Jones, Niwot, def. Noah Benedict/Dylan Griffin, 6-0, 6-1. No. 4 — Cecil Macgregor/Carter Pentz, Niwot, Def. Ben Inman/Tommy Heidebrecht, 6-3, 6-0.
