It wasn’t the senior send-off the Durango girls tennis team was hoping for as the Demons fell to Fruita Monument Wednesday afternoon 5-2 at Durango High School on senior day.
Durango fell to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League with the loss. Fruita Monument improved to 8-2 overall and 4-0 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League with the win.
“Fruita is a really strong program,” Durango girls tennis coach Darren Tarshis said. “We've really only managed to beat them as a team once that I know of and that was last season. We were expecting a good challenge and that's what we got. We had several positions that really just struggled to get any foothold in their matches. So that was tough.”
Durango sophomore number two singles player Jordan Kitchens won her match in two sets 6-3 and 6-1 against Keira Wilhelm. Tarshis was proud of how Kitchens has played the past week. He said Kitchens lost to Wilhelm a few weeks ago at the Pueblo Invitational and Kitchens is peaking at the right time before regionals.
“All of her coaches and all of her teammates see what kind of player she is at practice,” Tarshis said about Kitchens. “She's very aggressive. She's got great technique. Sometimes I think it's everyone around her who sees it and this week has really been a turning point.”
Tarshis said he saw the momentum begin in Grand Junction with Kitchens’ play. He said she’s playing smarter, hitting through her shots and keeping her opponents on their back heels.
The number three doubles pairing of senior Isa Bohachevsky and freshman Natalie Christensen won in three sets over Fruita’s Kyra Dunn and Lillie Belnap 2-6, 6-2 and 6-2. Tarshis was happy to see how the number three doubles team has bounced back after losing their last three-setter in Grand Junction.
Durango honored its six seniors in Bohachevsky, Lauryn Christensen, Adwyn Chowen, Ella Frihauf, Rachel Ager and Juliet DiGiacomo.
“These guys have really helped advance our program,” Tarshis said about his seniors. “At Durango High School, we've grown from like a 15-player team to averaging about 40 players a season … a big part of that is due to these six seniors. We've got some that have been on varsity all four years. We've got some that have worked their way up from the C team to earn a varsity spot their senior season.”
Up next for Durango is the 4A Region 8 Regionals in early May in Grand Junction. Every player gets the chance to qualify for individual states in Pueblo the following week. Tarshis thinks the Demons have a good chance at qualifying a good number of players.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
