The Durango High School girls’ tennis team took on one of the favorites at the inaugural Class 4A girls’ dual team state tournament, Cheyenne Mountain, on Wednesday at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
Many of the matches were tight, but Cheyenne Mountain managed to win the dual 7-0.
“There were lots of competitive points and many deuce games,” said DHS head coach Darren Tarshis. “Every position won at least one game. But they were the No. 2 seed for a reason.”
At No. 1 singles, Ellie Davenport lost 6-1, 6-1 to Sophie Zhou.
At No. 2 singles, Adwyn Chowen fell 6-1, 6-0 to Alyssa Sadri.
Jordan Kitchens lost at No. 3 singles 6-0, 6-1 against Saffron Heroldt.
Ellie McLean and Juliet DiGiacomo fell 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles to Rose Katen and Jocelyn Kelly.
Lola Bradshaw and Sydney Pritchard had one of the closest matches at No. 2 doubles. The DHS duo, however, fell 6-4, 6-1 to Brooke Ballenger and Hope Lewis.
At No. 3 doubles, Avery Edgar and Rachel Ager came up short against Hannah Koury and Katie Delich 6-1, 6-2.
Litzy Lopez and Addie Cady lost their No. 4 doubles bout 6-0, 6-2 against Shea Devanny and Daisy Hodsdon.
“Our kids were happy with the way they played,” Tarshis said. “A highlight for many of them was the indoor court experience.”
The country club has five indoor courts and five outdoor courts.
The loss was Durango’s second of the year, dipping the team’s overall record to 7-2. Cheyenne Mountain improved to 12-1 overall. The Red-Tailed Hawks’ only loss was to Cherry Creek, the top seed in the Class 5A state dual tournament.
In other first-round matches Wednesday in the 4A tournament, No. 4 Thompson Valley survived No. 13 Longmont 4-3. No. 5 Niwot beat No 12 Dakota Ridge 7-0. No. 3 Kent Denver beat No. 14 Severance 7-0 while No. 11 Ponderosa upset No. 6 Air Academy 4-3.
Cheyenne Mountain will play the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 7 Palmer Ridge and No. 10 Denver South in the second round.
The tough competition, however, should help Durango prepare to finish its season strong.
“Now we take that experience of going up against a strong team into our final home matches this week and regionals next week,” Tarshis said.
DHS will host Grand Junction for a pair of duals this week, at 3:30 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday. The 4A Region 8 championships will take place next Thursday and Friday at Colorado Mesa University.
