Losing his final boys tennis match at home wasn’t an option for Durango High School senior Drew Downs.
Playing at No. 2 singles, Downs won the first set against Montrose’s Brad Sawyer 6-1 before finding himself down 4-0 in the second set.
“I kind of had a challenge up against me, just fought through it,” said Downs, son of David and Julie Downs. “I think he started hitting with a bit more speed. I kind of let my guard down because I won the first set.”
Downs proceeded to win the next six games to seal a 6-1, 6-4 victory.
He was one of four seniors playing their final match on the DHS tennis courts, along with No. 1 doubles player Jake Schanfarber and the No. 3 doubles team of Blaise Page and Riley Wanzek.
“It’s cool to go out with a win just to remember this place,” Downs said. “I’ve been here since a freshman and gone my way up through the ranking through the years. These are my boys.”
The Demons took care of business as a team, too, beating Montrose 6-1 in their final dual before regionals.
No. 1 singles player Fred Edwards got DHS off to a great start with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout over Jared Warren. He wrapped up his match while most of the other positions still were in their first set.
Edwards was happy with the way he served and how hard he hit his forehand.
With regionals Thursday in Grand Junction, Edwards has put himself in a strong position to get back to the state tournament with only two losses this season.
“So far everyone in our region I’ve beaten, except Aspen. Aspen is the only unknown,” said Edwards, son of Paul and Vivian Edwards. “I know the Aspen kid from (United States Tennis Association), but I’ve never played him.”
Durango’s Alijah Konikowski beat Taylor Jones 7-5, 6-1 at No. 3 singles.
The Demons’ doubles teams bounced back from a disappointing few weeks with two wins and a default victory because Montrose doesn’t have a No. 4 doubles team.
Schanfarber and Gavin Syme were the only Demons to lose Saturday, falling 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) at No. 1 doubles.
“We’ve traded matches with Montrose at that position, so we know it’s really balanced,” DHS head coach Dave Weisfeldt said. “We’ll see them again next weekend.”
Durango’s No. 2 doubles team of Will Downs and Micah Hwang beat Jonah Hokit and Jeff Sullinger 6-3, 6-3, and Page and Wanzek survived Quinn Schrick and Caleb Spiess 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 10-7 in the supertiebreaker instead of a third set.
“The streakiness, I think, is going to even out once we’re on the road and have nothing to focus on except our tennis,” Weisfeldt said. “We saw consistency about halfway through the season, and we know it’s there, it’s just a matter of timing it when we have our tournament.”
Regionals are Thursday and Friday in Grand Junction after being moved from their previous scheduled site in Delta.
DHS has played at Canyon View Park multiple times this season and sees the site almost as a second home.
“It’s almost home territory for us. It’s a great facility,” Weisfeldt said. “It’s good that the season kind of ends now instead of goes a few more weeks. In terms of tightening our game and getting to this point, any more could stretch things out for us in a negative way.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
Durango Demons
Durango High School
Boys Tennis
Senior Day
Drew Downs
Blaise Page
Jake Schanfarber
Riley Wanzek
Durango Herald
