The Montezuma-Cortez High School boys tennis team placed third last week at the eight-team Delta High School tournament Grand Junction Central and Montrose finished ahead of the Panthers.
M-CHS had 11 match wins against both 5A and 4A teams.
The team met their goal of finishing in the top three, Panthers coach Dan Wood said. The very organized tournament was a great experience for every one of the participants.
Logan Dean had the best finish, placing second at No. 2 singles after losing a well played match in the finals against Central. Todd Underwood and Jake Valdez finished third in the tournament at No. 1 doubles, but coach Wood thought they were only a game or two away from winning the tourney. They lost a tiebreaker in the semifinals and then played some of their best tennis of the year to take third-place against Montrose, 6-2, 6-4.
Graham Cathey also placed third in the tournament at No. 1 singles. Cathey lost to Montrose after winning the first set 7-5. He lost the second, 4-6, and then lost the tiebreaker, because of bad luck and extremely good play by Montroses No. 1.
Cody Canzona and Si Eckhart won the consolation championship with a win over Grand Junction Central.
The Panthers are on the road today to play Durango at 4 p.m. M-CHS will play at Fruita Monument and Montrose on Friday and Saturday at 4 p.m. and 10 a.m., to conclude the regular season.