Overmatched in nearly all facets of the game, the Montezuma-Cortez High School girls tennis team did its best to remain competitive.
A victory over Durango High School’s varsity team was not to be however, as M-CHS lost all seven of its matches at the Jim Harkendorff Memorial Tennis Courts in Cortez on March 17.
“I felt like our girls did a good job of trying their best, and the match against Durango was a big learning experience,” said M-CHS head coach Valerie Bauer. “They were frustrated, and you could see that, but they learned something from it.”
At No. 1 singles, M-CHS junior Raquel Lucero stuck close to Sarah Harrelson and trailed 4-3 midway through the first set, but lost 6-3, 6-2. Lucero’s effort against Durango’s top player impressed M-CHS’s coaches, however, and they praised their top player’s effort.
“Raquel tried to strategize a little more than she usually does,” said M-CHS assistant coach Andi Pickens. “Even though she became frustrated, it wasn’t like she gave up at all. We were proud of her.”
At No. 2 singles, M-CHS junior Skye Cole lost to Maggie Hackett, 6-1, 6-1, and at No. 3 singles, M-CHS junior Laurel Chappell lost to Kit Hackett, 7-5, 6-0 after leading for most of the first set.
“This is just Laurel’s second year playing tennis, and she is doing a really good job,” said Bauer. “She is competitive, and that competitiveness is going to help her progress fast.”
In the No. 1 doubles match, the M-CHS tandem of Tori Calliham and Ashley Moore lost to Skylar Borr and Hannah Liberman, 6-1, 7-5, and at No. 2 doubles, M-CHS’s Kristen Pierce and Angel Veach lost, 6-1, 6-3.
M-CHS’s No. 3 doubles team of Kaila Carver and Tydall Davis lost 6-0, 6-0, as did the Lady Panthers No. 4 doubles team made up of Jennifer Sturman and Andria Battle.
“Our doubles teams have been working on their positioning and their ground strokes,” said Pickens. “We’ve been working on a lot of basic stuff that is going to help them. I expect that all of our doubles teams will continue to improve.”
Next up for the M-CHS tennis team will be a home match against Fruita Monument on March 20, followed by a home match against Glenwood Springs on March 21.
“Our goal is to keep getting better,” said Bauer, when asked about her team’s goals for the coming weeks. “We have a long ways to go, but we are working hard and beginning to see some results.”