Los Alamos Hilltopper boys tennis team from left, Zach Gibson, Cullen McLean, Coach Travis Gibson, Levi Gibson, Coach Tim Khazratkulov, Michael Witkowski, Luke Gibson, Aditya Viswanathan, Logan Swickley and Coach Hari Viswanathan. Photo by Gowri Srinivasan
By TRAVIS GIBSON
LAHS/LAMS Tennis Coach
The Los Alamos Hilltopper boys tennis team came closer than any team in recent memory to ending one of the most remarkable streaks in high school tennis in the United States. The final proved to be an incredible finish to an exciting season.
The team of Aditya Viswanathan, Michael Witkowski, Luke Gibson, Levi Gibson, Zach Gibson, Cullen McLean and Logan Swickley advanced to the New Mexico Class 4A State Team Championship finals, where they nearly did what no team has been able to do in 22 years: defeat the top-seeded Albuquerque Academy Chargers for the state title.
Academy held on for a 5-2 victory, extending its championship streak to 23 straight titles — the longest active championship streak in the nation in high school tennis. But the final score did not reflect how close the matchup truly was.
The Hilltoppers pushed the Chargers throughout the duel, starting with a tense doubles round. Academy came out of doubles with a narrow 2-1 lead, but Los Alamos nearly flipped the early momentum. The No. 3 doubles match came down to the wire, with the Toppers barely falling 6-4 in the third set. A win there would have given Los Alamos a 2-1 lead heading into the singles round and put Academy under even more pressure.
Instead, the Chargers carried a slim advantage into singles, where both teams traded matches in an exciting, high-level championship dual. Los Alamos continued to battle across the lineup, and when Academy closed out its fifth and deciding point, the Hilltoppers still held a set-and-break lead in the two remaining matches on court. Had those matches been played out, Los Alamos likely would have narrowed the final score to 5-4 — a better reflection of just how close the Toppers came to pushing Academy to the limit.
Academy’s own coaches recognized how difficult the match had been. Academy Coach Smolskis said the Chargers’ 5-2 win over Los Alamos was one of the toughest the program had faced in “quite some time.”
“They definitely had us on the edge of our seats most of the time,” Academy Assistant Ryan Tommasi added. “It was definitely not an easy watch at times — they gave us a run for our money.”
For Los Alamos, the championship appearance capped a dominant run through the state tournament.
The 3rd seeded Hilltoppers opened with a 5-1 win over perennial power Santa Fe Prep, then followed with an impressive 6-0 victory over the higher seeded Belen team in the semi-final round.
While Witkowski, a senior and two-time state doubles champion, graduates leaving big shoes to fill, the future remains extremely bright for the Hilltoppers. Los Alamos is expected to return the rest of its lineup next season. That returning group gives the Toppers an excellent chance to make another deep run. With so many young players already gaining experience on the state’s biggest stage, Los Alamos has positioned itself as one of the top challengers in Class 4A. Topper Coach Travis Gibson said “the team is excited to improve their conditioning and footwork, work on their tactical skills and play USTA summer and fall tournaments to give themselves the best chance to win the championship next year.”
Academy’s streak survived this time, but the Hilltoppers proved they are closing the gap. Their performance in the final showed that Los Alamos is not just a strong team for this season — it is a program with the depth, confidence and youth to keep pushing for the top spot in New Mexico tennis.