The Durango girls tennis team returned from Grand Junction victorious after winning The Durango Team Challenge on Wednesday. Durango went 4-0 after facing Grand Junction Central, Delta, Aspen and Glenwood Springs.
“It was a really solid day,” Durango girls tennis head coach Darren Tarshis said. “We played 28 matches and won 25 of them. So I was really proud of how they played kind of right at the halfway point of the season, four and a half weeks in. So a lot of good things came together for us.”
Tarshis said it was a new event for the Demons, held at Colorado Mesa University. All schools played each other round-robin style and it was played in an eight-game pro set scoring style. Instead of the traditional best two out of three sets, the first player to win eight games by a margin of two games wins the match.
The team challenge allowed the Demons to bounce back against some opponents they lost to earlier in the season. Durango’s No. 1 singles player, junior Jordan Kitchens, had lost to a Grand Junction Central player for the last three years. Kitchens had come so close to victory, with a few matches lasting over three hours. She finally beat her 8-6 on Wednesday.
“For Jordan, it's just about really allowing herself to hit the shots she hits in practice,” Tarshis said. “It's really just allowing herself to hit those same shots in match play. When things get close or when the pressure is on it's hard to access the shots you hit every day in practice. She's just getting better at doing that.”
Kitchens, sophomore No. 2 singles player Natalie Christensen, senior No. 3 singles player Rose Hinds, No. 1 doubles pairing senior Molly Best and freshman Ella Claassen and No. 4 doubles pairing sophomore Annabeth Hanson and senior Mary Jane Ramos all went 4-0 on Wednesday.
Tarshis was proud of Hinds for bouncing back and beating a Grand Junction Central player she lost to two days prior. Tarshis said it’s super hard mentally for a player to bounce back like that and believe she can win.
Best and Claassen have only played together starting this year. As a freshman, Claassen actually has more experience playing tennis than Best, who began playing as a sophomore.
“We've done really well as a duo this year,” Best said. “I just started getting to know her, so that's definitely something to get used to as well. But I think we have really good chemistry.”
The Demons will play at home against Grand Junction on April 11-12.
Girls golf battles top New Mexico programs in Farmington
The Durango High girls golf team faced some different competition than usual at Piñon Hills Golf Course in Farmington at the 2025 4A State Preview on Monday. Durango finished third out of seven schools.
“It went really well,” Durango girls golf head coach Kirk Rawles said. “Our top three players scored really well on that course.”
The Demons finished third with a team score of 341 or +57 over par. The team scores in New Mexico take teams’ top four golfers’ combined scores, compared to Colorado where it’s the top three golfers from each team.
ABQ Academy finished as the top team with a team score of +41 over par and Piedra Vista was second at +46 over par. Rawles said ABQ Academy is one of the top teams in the state and Piedra Vista is great. The tournament attracted a lot of teams since Piñon Hills is hosting the New Mexico state championship in 4A.
Junior Jayden Craig was the top Durango finisher in eighth place at +9 over par or 80. Annie Yost won the tournament at even par 71.
Craig had a tough start with a quadruple bogey early in her round. But she bounced back with two birdies and nine pars.
Durango sophomore Dylan Livingston was right behind, finishing tied ninth at +10 over par. Her round was also highlighted by two birdies.
Senior Ellie White was the third-best Demon, finishing 12th at +12 over par. She had 10 pars and a birdie, which was a five-foot putt away from being an eagle, according to Rawles.
Fellow senior Raimee Brant returned to competition and was the final Demon scorer in 23rd at +26 over par.
Rawles said the greens were tricky because they were slow and bumpy after being aerated.
The Demons have a busy three weeks, with six tournaments scheduled, starting with two tournaments in Montrose on Monday and Tuesday.
“Hillcrest just opened a week ago Wednesday and Dalton (Ranch) opened a week ago,” Rawles said. “So we just haven't really had the opportunity to put the holes in to actually play. We've had some really good practice. So now we blend that with playing the next three weeks and then see where we're at.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
