No matter the power or precision from the other end, Steamboat Springs senior Liam Siefken is prepared to return all types of serves on the tennis court. 

The No. 1 singles star was up against one of the hardest-hitting servers he has ever faced on Thursday when Grand Junction Central came to town, but Siefken never wavered. 

“We work on serves coming at you at 100-something miles per hour,” said Siefken, who constantly works with head coach Jason Scicchitano on returns during practice. “We’ve been working on it all season so I knew right off the bat that even though he has a killer serve, I know how to put this back on the court. All I was thinking about was I have to keep the point in play. As long as I get the ball back, that’s all I have to do.” 

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Siefken’s mental poise led to a 7-5 first set victory, but the match was far from over. 

In the second set, Siefken’s opponent, Canaan Ross, began crashing to the net on his second serves. Siefken could return but Ross continuously found ways to put the point away, giving him an early lead in the set. 

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The frustrated Siefken called upon Scicchitano for advice, learning to attack high at Ross’ backhand side. 

“Statistically, your backhand is usually worse than your forehand,” Siefken explained. “If you start aiming a high ball at the backhand, it’s harder than your forehand where you are confident… It was good to talk with Jason and hear that there was a way to get past it.” 

A handful of misses just off the line led to a Grand Junction Central win in the second set to force a 10-point tiebreak in the third. 

Siefken said his playstyle almost always calls for a tiebreak so he is more than used to those situations. His approach is never to focus on winning the match or a specific point, it is all about having fun and putting the ball on the court. 

The composed Siefken managed to clear his head, enjoy playing his game and cruised to a 10-4 tiebreak victory to take the match and put a cap on the Sailors’ sweep of the visiting Warriors, 7-0. 

Scicchitano said the team has been addressing weaknesses all season and he has seen massive amounts of improvement over the last few weeks. Since Sept. 12, the Sailors have won a combined 16 matches, only losing five. Scicchitano attributes much of the success to having an athletic group of players who are very coachable. 

Steamboat has two regular season matches remaining ahead of postseason play. The Sailors host Ponderosa at 4 p.m. Friday and close out the season against Rocky Mountain at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Both matches will take place at the Steamboat Tennis Center. 

The team will later travel to Grand Junction for the 4A Regional from Oct. 9-10. 

“We are looking to consolidate some of the things we have learned in practice and filter it into our performance which we did yesterday and we did today,” Scicchitano said. “The next two matches are tough, they are 5A schools but I think it will be good tennis. We have only lost in-region to Vail (Christian) in a dual match setting. We are strong and ready to play tough opponents.” 

Steamboat Springs 7, Grand Junction Central 0
No. 1 Singles — Liam Siefken, SS, def. Grand Junction Central, 7-5, 4-6, 10-4.
No. 2 Singles — Wiley Cotter, SS, def. Grand Junction Central, 6-0, 6-2.
No. 3 Singles — Ibrokhim Nuriddinov, SS, def. Grand Junction Central, 6-2, 6-0.
No. 1 Doubles — Damien Dobson and Matthew MacEntee, SS, def. Grand Junction Central, 7-6, 6-2.
No. 2 Doubles — Garrett Moyer and Alec Buchler, SS, def. Grand Junction Central, 6-4, 6-3.
No. 3 Doubles — Collin Mudgett-Furgueson and Hank Ince, SS, def. Grand Junction Central, 6-2, 6-2.
No. 4 Doubles — Tesher Feinberg and Coen Dore, SS, def. Grand Junction Central, 6-0, 6-1.