Caldwell downs Creek at No. 1 singles

GREENWOOD VILLAGE – Mac Caldwell knew who and what he was facing.

He was taking on the No. 1 singles player in the program that long has been the resident truth on Colorado courts.

And he never blinked.

On Tuesday, the Mullen junior took down Cherry Creek’s George Cavo in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4, to grab an eye-opening victory individually.

Teamwise, the Mustangs fell 6-1 in the dual match, but were certain taking on the storied competition can only help them.

As for Caldwell, Mustangs head coach Jacob Ohrman called it “a big win for Mac, the best win of his high-school tennis career.”

Caldwell said he simply “just hit my shots and stayed calm. (Cavo) is really good and this doesn’t happen every day.”

It was Cavo’s first loss of the season and Caldwell admitted afterward that “I did not think this match would end well for me … but when I got up 6-5, I said to myself, ‘I can do this.’”

And he did. Caldwell, who became Mullen’s top singles player right before the start of the season through challenge matches, said he “was more relaxed and maybe a little bit too relaxed in the beginning, but I started getting amped up.”

It was relevant to the surroundings as Class 5A Cherry Creek, winner of an outlandish 42 team titles, actually needs considerable bleachers to handle its crowd and the 4A Mustangs drew well for a road match. Plus, it was part of the plan Ohrman had in mind when scheduling. Not only have the Mustangs also taken on defending 4A champion Colorado Academy and perennial challenger Cheyenne Mountain in dual meets in addition to the Bruins, but they have been in – and won – two tournaments. And they will be at Niwot, perhaps the 4A favorite, on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

As Caldwell said, “we’re going to get better with each match we play. We’ll build on it.”

The Mustangs lost the other two singles matches and all four in doubles in straight sets, but Ohrman was OK with it from a competition standpoint.

And don’t forget the Mustangs were without No. 3 singles Dante Dino, who tore a calf muscle and will work to return by the postseason.

Ohrman said it was the first time he had to significantly juggle the lineup. Junior George Henry Hanzel stayed at No. 2 singles, but Tanner Amman moved up from the No. 1 doubles to play at No. 3 singles.

J.P. Starkey played with Coleman Guthrie at No. 1 singles to continue the chain-reaction-like shifts. Jack Barker-Greg McMullan were at No. 2; Charlie Manta-Luc Caldwell at No. 3; and Kevin McGuire-Roman Fresquez at No. 4.

“Today was a tough one because we had lost Dante and we had to shift the lineup, and not one of my doubles teams had played together,” Ohrman said. “It’s tough.

“But I was proud of the way that they fought and with the potential they showed. You could show them – this is how much room you have to grow. You can beat these teams.”

Hanzel forced his second set to seven games as did Barker-McMullan and Manta-L. Caldwell in their first sets.

Said Ohrman: “We need to keep going.”