Two down, one to go.
While the Durango Demons’ ace was dealt his final draw Day 1 of the CHSAA Class 4A Boys Tennis State Championships, their No. 2 singles player and No. 2 doubles team remained alive Day 2 in Pueblo.
Alec Ensign and Drew Downs, the No. 8 seed in the Class 4A bracket, lost Day 1 on Thursday to Air Academy.
Ryder Searle, the Demons’ No. 1 singles player, lost Thursday to Austin Hampton of Cheyenne Mountain.
Fred Edwards, the Demons’ No. 2 singles player, was the last Demon standing in Pueblo.
Edwards, the 7-seed, beat No. 8 Stefan Orton-Urbina of Air Academy 5-7, 7-5, 6-0 on Thursday, then beat No. 5 Aaron Well of Mullen 6-1, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
In his first match Friday, Edwards lost 6-0, 6-0 to No. 3 Willie Gold of Kent Denver in the state semis.
Edwards lost 5-7, 6-2, 4-6 to Cheyenne Mountain in a playback situation. He finished tied for fifth among the 4A 2s.
“It was so inspirational (for him to make the semifinals),” DHS head coach Laura Ehlers said. “For a freshman to do it sets the bar for what you can accomplish playing tennis for Durango.”
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