A young Durango High School girls tennis team gained invaluable experience Friday, even if it didn’t pick up many wins.

The Demons participated in the first day of the Western Slope Open at Canyon View Park in Grand Junction. The Demons won just three matches, but head coach Dave Weisfeldt was happy to see several of his players compete against stiff competition.

“It is a super tough tournament. We knew that going in. It is just nice for the girls to get this level of competition early in the season,” Wesifeldt said. “We have a lineup that’s not our peak lineup. We hope this toughening, learning experience for our young kids pays off when they slide into their regular positions when we get some regular varsity players back.”

Kit Hackett dropped all three of her matches at No. 1 singles. She lost 6-0, 6-2 to Poudre, 11-10 with an 8-3 tiebreaker to Columbine and 10-7 to Fruita Monument.

“She improved through the day after a slow start. She struggled with consistency, and we are hoping to reverse the result against teams like Fruita,” Wesifeldt said.

Wesifeldt called No. 2 singles player Maggie Hackett his star of the day. She won her first-round match against Grand Junction’s second team 6-2, 6-3. She dropped her second-round match against Chatfield 6-0, 7-5 and a third-round match 10-3 against Fruita.

Maggie Hackett played Grand Junction’s first team in her fourth match. The freshman won by default after pushing the match to 10-9 in favor of Grand Junction.

“The Grand Junction player defaulted on match point because she can’t play (Saturday). Rather than win and leave a bye open (Saturday), she defaulted to let Maggie take her place. It was great sportsmanship,” Wesifeldt said. “Maggie played outstanding. It took her awhile to figure out Chatfield and Fruita, but she played well and got to measure up those girls.”

Hannah Liberman lost all three of her matches. She lost 6-1, 6-4 to Ralston Valley, 11-9 to Montrose and 10-1 to Poudre.

“The loss to Montrose was painful. Hannah wants another opportunity there and feels she can turn the corner,” Wesifeldt said. “That’s what we want to see against those league opponents.”

The No. 1 doubles team of Emma Hagen and Audrey Morris lost 6-2, 6-1 to Denver East, 10-7 to Montrose and 10-6 to Steamboat Springs.

Rachel Cooper and Eva Eckstein lost to Heritage 6-0, 6-0 in their first-round match at No. 2 doubles, but the team responded well with a 10-7 win against Montrose. Hagen and Morris backed that win up with a 10-1 loss to Fruita Monument and a 10-5 loss to Columbine.

The No. 3 doubles team of Ruby DeKay and Elli Gervais played a close first-round match against Palmer Ridge. After dropping the first set 7-5, DeKay and Gervais took the second set 6-3 before losing 10-5 in a super tiebreak.

“It was amazing to see those two newcomers play so well,” Wesifeldt said. “They played outstanding while still getting used to each other on the court.”

After that match, DeKay and Gervais lost to Fruita Monument 10-0 and Pueblo West 10-6.

Jenna Engelken and Hailee Pritchard lost all three of their No. 4 doubles matches with a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Chatfield, a 10-5 loss to Montrose and a 10-0 loss to Columbine.

“It is all about experience. It is a learning tournament for us, and we knew that coming in. Still, the young girls were beaming coming off the court because they learned some things,” Wesifeldt said.

Durango will learn some more when matches resume at 8 a.m. Saturday.

“It is a lot of tennis over two days. We really just want to focus hard on the matches we have with league and regional opponents so we know what to expect when we see them down the road,” Wesifeldt said.

heraldsports@durangoherald.com