The Durango High School girls tennis team’s season, one that almost never started, ended Friday in Pueblo.
The Demons began the season without a coach after longtime leader Dave Weisfeldt took a long-awaited retirement, and Durango’s diving coach from the swim team Sue Lawton stepped up to make the season possible only days before the team’s first match. The girls made the most of it.
The No. 3 doubles team of Emma Hackett and Chloe West, and the No. 4 team of Lily Chick and Ruby DeCora made it all the way to the Colorado High School Activities Association’s Class 4A Girls State Tennis Championships to compete against the state’s best talent.
“These girls were so dedicated and every one of them had their hearts into this team,” Lawton said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “When they had no coach, they just kept moving forward, and they just kept marching forward until it was over. I’m so proud.”
After winning Thursday’s opening-round match, Hackett and West lost the quarterfinal match against a duo from Cheyenne Mountain. However, with Cheyenne Mountain advancing to the finals, the No. 3 Durango team was put into the playback bracket and given the opportunity to play on Friday.
Hackett and West stormed through the playback’s opening round match with a 6-2, 6-1 win against Evergreen, notching the team’s second win in Pueblo. In the playback semifinal, the Demons won the first set 7-5, but dropped the next two 6-4, 6-4 to Madeline Bragg and Grace Hawkey of Kent Denver.
“Everyone was biting their nails,” Lawton said. “Kent Denver was good, but Emma and Chloe just kept making shots right back at them. It was amazing tennis throughout the entire match.”
Chick and DeCora lost their opening-round match in three sets to University High School’s No. 4 team. The University team did the Demons no favors in the next round, as their second-round loss nixed Durango’s chance at a playback and ended the No. 4 team’s season.
“When I look back, it’s very rewarding,” Lawton said. “They felt lucky just to have a season. They did what we asked of them, and it is remarkable at how far these girls came.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
