The Western Slope Open never is an easy tournament for the Durango High School tennis team. That certainly rang true Friday on the first day of the tournament in Grand Junction.
The DHS Demons didn’t win an opening-round match of the tournament, but a few players still have something to play for in the consolation bracket Saturday.
“It was a tough day, a real tough day,” DHS head coach Dave Weisfeldt said. “We always know it is going to be, so it was no surprise. The level of competition here is how we are tested, and we did find a few bright spots.”
The biggest bright spot came at No. 1 singles, where Fred Edwards rallied after losing his first match of the season 6-4, 6-1 to Air Academy. After the loss, Edwards bounced back with an 8-3 pro-set win against Chatfield and an 8-2 win over Ralston Valley. He will face a player from Regis on Saturday in the main consolation bracket semifinals.
“If he can get to the main consolation finals or win the finals, that would be a tremendous accomplishment,” Weisfeldt said.
Drew Downs also had a solid day at No. 2 singles. After losing his opener 6-2, 6-2 to Columbine, he rebounded with a win against Grand Junction Central before losing 8-0 to a powerful player from Regis. He then dropped a match to Chatfield 8-1.
“He did a fantastic job staying in each game and stretching the Regis guy to deuce,” Weisfeldt said. “He gets a gold star for playing four matches in one day.”
At No. 3 singles, Alijah Konikowski was overmatched by Regis in the first round, losing 6-0, 6-0. He then dropped an 8-1 match to Fruita Monument and an 8-5 match to Littleton.
The Demons’ No. 1 doubles team of Jack Schanfarber and Gavin Syme lost to one of the best doubles duos in the state from Denver East in a 6-0, 6-0 opening-round match. They went on to lose to Grand Junction Central 8-5 and Columbine 8-0.
At No. 2 doubles, Will Downs and Micah Hwang lost 7-6, 6-0 to Ralston Valley. They went on to lose to Grand Junction 8-0 but finished the day with an 8-4 win against Montrose.
“The turned it around in that third match, and it was good for us to get a win scattered in there,” Weisfeldt said.
Blaise Page and Riley Wanzek competed at No. 3 doubles and lost 6-1, 6-0 to Chatfield before falling 8-4 to Ralston Valley. In a match the duo had won earlier in the season, Page and Wanzek fell 8-5 to the Montrose team.
“That was a letdown, because we had done so well against them last week,” Weisfeldt said of the Montrose match. “Montrose took our expectations into their playbook and surprised us there. We want a rematch at regionals.”
At No. 4 doubles, Jake Beekman and Amon Ledger-Swenson rounded out the DHS team with a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Heritage, an 8-5 loss to Littleton and an 8-1 loss to Fruita Monument.
“Those two did a great job winning seven games against a Front Range school like Heritage,” Weisfeldt said.
In a rare occurrence, DHS junior varsity player Easton Verduzco was able to team up with a player from Regis to form the No. 4 doubles team for Montrose, which helped Montrose field a full team to even out the bracket while giving Verduzco a chance to compete. His team lost 8-5 to Littleton in their only match.
Action will resume at the Western Slope Open early Saturday morning.
“The good news is that when you get further into this tourney, there is more parity in matches and the competition level evens out a bit,” Weisfeldt said. “The first day is a harsh reality with the top teams in the state beating everybody up, not just us.”
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