While Fairview’s run in the Class 5A boys tennis team state tournament was cut short in the quarterfinals Saturday, the Knights still have reason to be optimistic about their individual postseason prospects.

No. 1 singles standout Adhrit Sundaresan, in particular, delivered a statement performance in Fairview’s 5-2 home quarterfinal loss to familiar foe Fossil Ridge. Only 17 days after losing to Tyler Van Tassell in a regular-season dual, the sophomore Sundaresan gained revenge on the Fossil Ridge senior, 6-2, 7-6.

“It was my mindset,” Sundaresan credited to his bounce-back win. “I had nothing to lose, and I didn’t care about the results at all. My goal was to give my best effort on every single point. When I play like that, I don’t care how the match goes.”

Fairview head coach Doug Kazarosian was proud of Sundaresan’s ability to make the necessary adjustments against Van Tassell.

“Adhrit is incredibly composed out there for someone his age,” Kazarosian said. “He has transformed his season by performing his best at the end of the year. That is easily the biggest win of his career so far, may it not be the biggest win ever.”

To make Sundaresan’s win even more impressive, Van Tassell is an ambidextrous opponent who serves left-handed but plays right-hand dominant. Sundaresan admitted it wasn’t easy adjusting to Van Tassell’s unique abilities.

“The first time I played him it was pretty difficult,” Sundaresan said. “I’d hit a ball across court thinking it was a forehand but then it would go to his backhand. At this point, I was used to it. I got used to his serve as well, which made it easier to play.”

Fairview’s only other victorious line was its No. 1 doubles duo of seniors Ian Schwartz and Sam Rich, who knocked off Fossil Ridge’s Davis Samuelson and Felipe Sampaio, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

“We’ve been playing those guys for two years now, so we kind of know how they play,” Rich said. “Once we figured it out, it was executing our game plan.”

With Saturday’s win, Schwartz and Rich improved their overall season record together to 17-1. The two seniors believe their chemistry off the court has contributed to their success on it.

“Our games match up pretty well,” Schwartz said. “We always know what each other’s thinking, what our next plan should be and if what we’re trying isn’t working.”

Behind Sundaresan, Fairview senior Jake Boston fell to Cadell Webb (6-2, 1-6, 6-1) at No. 2 singles, and fellow senior Charlie Gomulka lost to Ian Miller (6-1, 6-3) in the No. 3 singles match.

Elsewhere: at No. 2 doubles, Fairview’s Chase Harrah and Kai Rajpal came up short against Diego Pardina and Keaton Thomas (6-2, 6-4); Fairview’s Itay Kazatcher and Jack Thatcher lost to Braxton Phillips and Vedant Manakeshwar at No. 3 doubles (6-3, 1-6, 6-4); and Fairview’s Om Vegesna and Aaditya Kheterpaul lost to Zane Webb and Zach Peterson at No. 4 doubles (7-6, 6-4).

The Knights’ focus now shifts to the Region 6 individual tournament, which they’ll host on Wednesday and Thursday. Other teams looking to qualify lines for the 5A individual state tournament at Fairview include Arapahoe, Denver East, Bear Creek, Greeley Central, Monarch and ThunderRidge.

“Our team season is over, but now we take the team and we support each other in the individual regionals,” Kazarosian said. “It’s exciting that we get to host on our brand new courts in one of the best tennis environments in high school in the state.”

Other appearances in the team state tournaments:

Class 5A

No. 14 Boulder lost 7-0 to No. 3 Valor Christian in the first round

Class 4A

No. 8 Niwot fell 6-1 to No. 9 Vail Christian in the first round

No. 10 Peak to Peak lost 5-2 to No. 7 George Washington in the first round

No. 13 Dawson fell 6-1 to No. 4 Evergreen in the first round

No. 15 Longmont lost 7-0 to No. 2 Colorado Academy in the first round