The Durango High School girls tennis team won three regional titles and qualified for state at three other positions on Thursday and Friday at the 4A Region 8 championships at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction.
Adwyn Chowen won a singles title for the Demons at No. 2 singles. Ellie McLean and Juliet DiGiacomo combined for a No. 1 doubles title and Rachel Ager and Avery Edgar teamed up to win a title at No. 3 doubles.
Ellie Davenport also qualified with a second-place finish at No. 1 singles, as did Lola Bradshaw and Sydney Pritchard at No. 2 doubles.
DHS just missed the cut at the other two positions; only top-two finishers qualified for state out of the five-team regional.
Jordan Kitchens finished third at No. 3 doubles while Addie Cady and Litzy Lopez placed third at No. 4 doubles for DHS.
“We have been committed and serious throughout the tennis season, and I think we came into regionals and proved our experience and strength on the courts,” Ager said. “There’s a lot of pressure that comes with playing but a lot of us were able to relax and play our best. I think we had an amazing turnout with the tournament, and now some of us will be looking forward to what we can do at state.”
Chowen entered the tournament as the top seed at No. 2 singles and proved she deserved it. Chowen beat Central Grand Junction’s 6-1, 6-4 in the first round. In the final, she beat Caroline Pomery of Longmont 6-3, 6-2.
At the same time Chowen was playing for match point in the finals, DiGiacomo and McLean were also playing for match point on the next court. The DHS duo won its first match 6-0, 6-3 against Grand Junction, and then scored a championship against Central 6-4, 6-3 within a minute or two of Chowen’s win.
“Today went very well,” Chowen said. “I had very competitive matches and my previous doubles partner Juliet went into match point and won at the same time, which was very exciting.”
Edgar and Ager won both of their matches in straight sets to take the No. 3 doubles crown. They beat Grand Junction 6-1, 6-1 in the semis and then Longmont 6-4, 6-3 in the final.
At No. 1 singles, Davenport was the No. 3 seed and first had to take on a girl who had beat her five straight times in the last three years, Andie Blowers of Montrose. On Thursday, Davenport was the better player and took down the Rad Hawk 6-3, 6-4. Davenport fell to Lauren Pavot of Longmont 6-1, 6-0 in the championship, but qualified with her second-place finish.
“I was not expecting to beat Andie and make it to state, but it’s nice to finally see the growth of my high school tennis skills,” Davenport said.
Bradshaw and Pritchard were the top seed at No. 2 doubles and started the tournament with 6-1, 7-5 win against Grand Junction. In the finals they took on Longmont and the match went into a third set, but the Demons came up short 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.
Cady and Lopez started the tournament with a 6-2, 6-0 win against Montrose at No. 4 doubles. In the finals against Longmont, they needed a couple tiebreakers to decide the match, but the Demons fell 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3).
After the loss, Cady and Lopez had to play in a true-second place match against Central. That match needed a third set and a tiebreaker, but the Demons came up just short 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 to finish in third.
Kitchens, meanwhile, dropped her fist match against Longmont 6-0, 6-1, but was able to beat Bethany Kimmell of Grand Junction in the third-place match 6-3, 6-3.
The Class 4A state championships will take place Thursday through Saturday at Pueblo City Park. Longmont also qualified for state at five positions while Central and Grand Junction both qualified at one and Montrose none. Team scores weren’t kept.
“Although not everyone is gong to state, we had a really good showing at regionals and everyone battled hard,” Davenport said. “I am excited to make my final trip to Pueblo with some of the best people I have ever met.”
