Playing only with freshmen and sophomores, the Durango High School girls tennis team was encouraged by its performance against Fruita Monument.
The Demons were beat 6-1 on Saturday. No. 2 singles player Maggie Hackett, a freshman, picked up the lone win for DHS with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory after a grueling, three-hour long match against senior Jacque Soychak.
“It was a brutal match that went back-and-forth all day,” DHS head coach Dave Weisfeldt said. “It was exciting to watch. She played smart and had to figure out some new shots; she played well above her years of experience.”
Wesifeldt said it was the consistency Hackett played with that helped her take the victory.
“She was in a lot of long rallies. The outcome would have been different if she faltered at any point,” he said. “She got banged up (Friday) in Grand Junction with a scraped out and swollen knee, but she is a scrapper and played tough through the pain.”
No. 1 singles player Hannah Liberman lost 6-4, 6-1 to Bronte Hayward, a Wildcats senior.
“Hannah got up an early break to start the match. They traded games back and forth,” Wesifeldt said. “She had her momentum broken and couldn’t find her gear again.”
Durango’s Audrey Morris lost her No. 3 singles match to Shannon Hautzinger 6-3, 6-0.
“That was Audrey’s first-ever singles experience. It was nice to see her and the top of the lineup in singles be competitive with us being devastated in numbers because of prom,” Weisfeldt said. “I was glad to see that part of the lineup hold up.”
Ruby Dekay and Elli Gervais were stopped 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 doubles; Jenna Engelken and Hailee Pritchard dropped the No. 2 doubles match 6-1, 6-0; Ryann Daly and Braden Higby lost 6-0, 6-1 in the No. 3 doubles match; Jazmin Ortiz and Chloe West fell 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 doubles.
“Historically, Fruita is a very talented tennis team with a lot of experience. I was happy with the effort of all of our doubles teams,” Weisfeldt said.
The Demons will host their first two home matches of the season Friday and Saturday at DHS, and Wesifeldt is excited to see what his team can do when it returns to full strength.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
