The Durango High School girls tennis team is sending a trio of players to the state tournament.DHS freshman Sarah Harrelson will represent No. 2 singles at the CHSAA Class 4A Girls Tennis State Championships next weekend in Pueblo, and Meredith Nass and Kit Hackett will join her at No. 1 doubles after all three girls earned runner-up results at the two-day Region 8 tournament.The Demons took third overall out of 11 teams in Grand Junction.
Couldnt believe how well everybody just stepped up their game just tough tennis, and they never gave up, DHS first-year head coach Laura Ehlers said.
Nass and Hackett lost to Steamboat Springs 6-1, 6-4 on Thursday, but because of their point totals and other teams results, they ended up with the tournament berth.
Harrelson, however, won out, beating Aspen 6-3, 6-3, then Vail Mountain 6-2, 6-4.
DHSs other surviving player after Day 1 on Wednesday, Erin Neale at No. 1 singles, lost to Glenwood Springs 6-2, 6-4 to take third place.Really nice, Ehlers said. Were pretty excited.
Day 1
The Demons went undefeated in their first round of matches Wednesday.
The Demons went 6-0 in the opening round of the Class 4A Region 8 championships, and the No. 1 doubles team of Nass and Hackett kept the momentum going.
Pretty exciting first day (Tuesday), Ehlers said.
To get to the title match, Nass and Hackett got a first-round bye, then beat Cortez 6-4, 6-4. They finished with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Aspen.
In the No. 1 singles spot, Erin Neale has a chance to place in the top three. She beat Cortez 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) to start the tournament, before losing to No. 1 ranked Steamboat Springs 6-1, 6-0.
Neale rebounded with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Montrose to stave off elimination.Harrelson beat Roaring Fork 6-0, 6-0 in the opening round at 2-singles. She followed with a win over Paonia (6-4, 6-3), then lost her third match to Steamboat Springs another No. 1 seed 6-1, 7-5.No. 3 singles Jamie Wanzek missed the tournament with an ankle injury.
The No. 2 doubles team of Rachel Redders and Anna Wright was the first of two DHS teams to get eliminated. After winning a grueling first match against Delta 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), they beat Montezuma-Cortez 6-2, 6-2, then lost to Steamboat Springs and Roaring Fork, 6-1, 6-2 and 7-5, 6-3, respectively.
No. 4 doubles also were eliminated but with only one loss. Rachel Cooper and Eva Eckstein beat Glenwood Springs 6-3, 6-2, then lost to Montezuma-Cortez 6-2, 6-2. In between, the No. 3s, Hannah Liberman and Jenni Snowberger, kept one more DHS team alive, beating Vail Mountain 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), losing to Steamboat Springs 6-2, 6-3, then beating Montrose 6-4, 6-4.The girls looked so good, Ehlers said. It was a different vibe (Wednesday). ... And just really good tennis, and the results show it.
The state tournament is May 9-11 at Pueblo City Park in Pueblo.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
