Two Demons saw their sophomore season come to a close Tuesday, while another played the final high school match of her career.
Durango High School senior Kit Hackett completed her last match of the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A girls tennis state tournament Tuesday in Pueblo.
The No. 3 singles player beat Sydney Smith of Discovery Canyon in the first round Monday before a quarterfinal loss to Maeve Kearney of Kent Denver.
But Kearney advanced to the state championship match after Tuesday’s semifinals, allowing Hackett a chance in the playback bracket.
Hackett took advantage and defeated Nicole Pei of Colorado Christian School 6-2, 7-5 on Tuesday morning.
“Kit did phenomenal,” DHS head coach Dave Weisfeldt said. “She had to fight through her first match (Tuesday), but she scrambled to make some shots and invent some new ones. It was good to see her fight through.”
But the Durango senior’s season would come to a close one match later, as she fell 6-0, 6-4 to Caitie McCarthy of Pueblo West. Hackett had a 2-2 showing overall in the 16-player tournament.
“That was a heavy-hitting match,” Weisfeldt said. “That second set, Kit did great. That was the defending state champ at 3 singles, and Kit’s other loss was to the defending state runner-up, so it was a very good showing. Great to sere her go out that way, because she played a great last match even without getting the win.”
Twin sisters Chloe and Emily West did not get to play a match Tuesday. After a first-round win, the Wests lost in Monday’s quarterfinals and awaited to see if they would earn a playback match. The sophomores did not, after Allison Reeder and Toni Troje of Air Academy lost in the semifinals. Reeder and Troje had beat the West twins in the quarterfinals.
The Wests went 1-1 overall in the No. 4 doubles tournament.
DHS scored three points with its three wins in Pueblo. That ties the school record for the best performance at state since the team moved up to Class 4A. It matched the mark set in 2011.
“It was only three points, but it was good to see us back on the board,” Weisfeldt said.
Before any championship match was played, Cheyenne Mountain locked up a seventh consecutive state championship and its 18th in the last 30 years.
“They are a juggernaut,” Wesifeldt said.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
