The Western Slope Open wasn’t any more forgiving for the Durango High School boys tennis team on the second day of competition.

None of the Demons’ entries were able to fight onto a podium, but several positions did pick up wins in consolation brackets.

No. 1 singles player Fred Edwards wasn’t one of them. He lost to Regis 6-4.

Tournament organizers decided to only play one set to speed up play and get teams home sooner.

“There’s no room for error there,” DHS head coach Dave Weisfeldt said of the one-set format. “The difference was just who broke first. Unfortunate it couldn’t be a whole match, because it was wonderful to watch.”

Drew Downs beat Montrose 7-5 at No. 2 singles before falling to Aspen 6-0.

“I think he was a little drained from the first match,” Weisfeldt said. “Drew had a great tournament for us.”

Alijah Konikowski lost 6-3 to Ralston Valley at No. 3 singles in what Weisfeldt called “a heck of a match.”

The No. 1 doubles team of Jack Schanfarber and Gavin Syme lost 6-0 to Littleton.

Will Downs and Micah Hwang fell 6-1 to Ralston Valley at No. 2 doubles.

Blaise Page and Riley Wanzek lost 6-1 to Littleton at No. 3 doubles.

The No. 4 doubles team of Jake Beekman and Amon Ledger-Swenson beat Columbine 6-4 and also beat the Montrose Indians’ No. 4 doubles team, which consisted of DHS junior varsity player Easton Verduzco and a player from Regis, 6-0.

Durango’s next time on the court shouldn’t be as taxing, though.

The Demons will play a dual against Hotchkiss on Thursday in Delta before opening the Delta Invitational on Friday.

The field for that tournament more closely represents Durango’s region than the competition the Demons faced in the Western Slope Open.

“We’re kind of done getting beat up by the big boys on the Front Range,” Weisfeldt said. “It was a tough tournament for us; we knew that going in. Playing at that level will only make us tougher at this Delta tournament.”

heraldsports@durangoherald.com