Fred Edwards was sitting at home preparing for a Thursday at school when he got a call late Wednesday night.
The voice on the other end of the phone was of Durango High School boys tennis head coach Dave Weisfeldt, who informed Edwards he had a place in the CHSAA Class 4A Boys Tennis State Championships at Pueblo City Park in Pueblo, after all.
Edwards, the Demons’ No. 1 singles player all season, was called upon to replace the No. 1 singles player from Steamboat Springs, who was unable to compete.
“I was really surprised. My mom was real excited, even more than I was,” Edwards, son of Paul and Vivian Edwards, said Thursday in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “I kind of felt bad. The kid that dropped out beat me at (regionals). He is more worthy to be here than me, but I’m grateful I get to play.”
Edwards, a sophomore who now has competed at state in consecutive seasons, arrived in Pueblo at midnight Thursday morning, and he showed no signs of losing any sleep a few hours later, when he beat his first-round opponent Aaron Weil of Mullen 6-1, 6-3.
“I was a lot more comfortable than last year. Last year, I was intimidated by the big teams that bring whole teams to state and not just two or three players like we do,” Edwards said. “I felt amazing, and (Weil) couldn’t handle much of what I was giving him.”
Weisfeldt called it a nice lucky break to get Edwards to state and further his experience as the team’s top player as just a sophomore.
Shortly after Edwards’ match, a rain delay brought a halt to the tournament for more than 5 hours. Waiting in the wings was DHS No. 3 singles player Alijah Konikowski, who finally was able to play a match that began at 3:30 p.m.
Konikowski, also a sophomore, lost to Colorado Academy’s Noah Forman 6-0, 6-0.
“Alijah faced a tough kid, real tough,” Weisfeldt said. “He had a tough day waiting around for the match, and now he and I will wait around some more to see if (Forman) makes the finals, which would draw Alijah back into the consolation bracket.”
Because of the lengthy weather delays, the majority of doubles matches were not completed Thursday. Kent Denver will enter Friday in first place with four points. Air Academy, Colorado Academy and Niwot all have three wins, and Aspen, Greeley Central and Lewis-Palmer have two.
Edwards will face the top seed in the 4A No. 1 singles bracket Friday morning when he goes against Air Academy senior Keenan Kaltenbacher.
“I’m going to have fun and enjoy missing school,” Edwards said.
jlivingston@ durangoherald.com
