Montezuma-Cortez High School finished the regular season with a 5-2 loss to Montrose on the road Saturday.
The only wins for Panthers tennis came from Logan Dean at No. 2 singles and Grant Gasaway at No. 1 junior varsity singles.
Dean played almost flawlessly against Chancey Dunn, winning 6-0 and 6-3. This victory should make Dean a top seed in the upcoming 4A regional matches and significantly increase his chances of going to the state playoffs in Pueblo.
Gasaway was able to hit hard, accurate first serves and at the last match of the day, he won 8-5 in the pro-set final. His teammates were so impressed with the victory, that they carried him off the court to end the day.
No. 1 varsity singles player Graham Cathey almost won the first set against Phurba Sherpa with some incredible strategy and shot-making. But Cathey succumbed to the consistent, powerful accuracy of Sherpa, losing 5-7, 0-6.
Ford Wegner had the same thing happen to him at No. 3 singles. He almost won the first set and played well, but not quite good enough against Josh Robertson, who won the close match, 5-7, 3-6.
The Panthers doubles teams had a tough time against the Montrose Indians.
Todd Underwood and Jake Valdez lost the tiebreaker 8-10 to Christian Grey and Nick Sherwood at No. 1 doubles. The duo has lost four tiebreaker matches this year. The good news is that they have a good opportunity to win at Regionals and advance to the state tournament.
Cody Canzona and Si Eckhart lost a close match to David Thorpe and Jarred Warren at No. 2 doubles, 3-6, 3-6.
At No. 3 doubles, Wyatt Yates and Tyler Daniel played very well, despite losing a very close match to Clayton Buettler and Hayden Tipping, 4-6, 4-6.
The Panthers No. 4 doubles team of Jace Mullen and Xavier Eddy lost to Chase Buckallew and Andrew Johnson, 3-6, 2-6.
M-CHS lost Friday at Fruita Monument, 7-0.
The Panthers travel to Grand Junction today and Friday to play in the 4A Region-8 playoffs with high hopes of having several individuals qualify for state.
The team has improved their mental and physical skills significantly, M-CHS coach Dan Wood said.
Regionals will be held on the campus of Colorado Mesa University.