The Durango High School boys tennis team struggled against top competition last season and finished seventh as a team at regionals. This year, the Demons are ready to compete with an experienced group.
Chad Patacky returns for his third season as Durango’s head coach after leading the Demons to a 2-5 overall record and a 1-4 record in the 5A/4A Southwestern Tennis League.
“I’m feeling good about the start of the season,” Patacky said. “I didn't really lose too many players from last year. So we're coming in this year with more match play experience since I've been coach … so that's exciting. Then I would say that over the summer, the kids played more than they've ever played leading up to a season.”
There were plenty of options for the boys players to play quality tennis over the summer. The boys and girls tennis teams held joint practices over the summer to prepare for the season. There were also local tournaments in Farmington that a lot of the guys played at, according to Patacky.
It was also the first year Durango held a junior tennis tournament, which provided another opportunity to play for a lot of the returners. Eight of the Demons boys tennis players also went to tennis camp in Fort Collins, where the guys played 6-8 hours a day from Monday-Friday, working on various skills.
The Demons return a lot of strong players, but lost their No. 1 singles player, Nate Claassen to graduation. Patacky said senior Mikael Hofmann has stepped into the No. 1 singles spot for this year. Hofmann went 5-5 last season at No. 1 doubles last season and has been beating everyone in practice so far this year, according to Patacky.
“He's always been able to hit the ball really hard,” Patacky said about Hofmann. “But, really over the summer, he's been able to develop a skill set of building points, being consistent, and then only hitting the ball hard when he has a good opportunity to. So, he's playing the percentages a lot better and hitting really good, high-percentage shots. He's improved a lot because of essentially tactics.”
Behind Hofmann is expected to be junior Jack Cuthberston, according to Patacky. Cuthberston also played No. 2 singles last season and finished the season with a 3-10 record.
Cuthberston is an excellent athlete who uses his athleticism as a strength, according to Patacky. He’s been working with Cuthberston on combining his athleticism with shot selection, shot-making ability and consistency to build points and finishing points for match wins.
Under Patacky, the boys tennis program doubled its wins from one win in Year 1 and two wins in Year Two. He hopes to continue that trend in Year 3. The Demons are on the road to start the season in Fruita on Wednesday and continue their road play until Sept. 26 and 27, when they play Grand Junction at home.
Patacky thinks Grand Junction will be tough to beat, but he expects his team will compete with the rest of the league (Fruita Monument, Grand Junction Central).
The Demons haven’t talked too much about a team goal this year. However, Patacky hopes to send a few players to state this year after failing to send a player last season.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
