Not a lot of good, plenty of bad and a whole lot of ugly.
Such was theme for the Montezuma-Cortez High School tennis team during a 7-0 loss to Durango on Sept. 23.
Among the M-CHS players who struggled mightily was No. 1 singles player Cody Canzona, who lost to Durango’s Trent Edwards, 6-0, 6-0.
Also struggling to win games, yet fairing slightly better than Canzona, was M-CHS’s No. 3 singles player Rory Walker, who lost to Alijah Konikowski, 6-1, 6-1.
“I played better than I usually do,” said Walker. “I have a lot of nerves but I’m getting over that and starting to play better.”
Playing the most competitive match of the day for the Panthers at No. 1 doubles were Xavier Eddy and Noah Porter, who lost to Durango’s Gavin Syme and Jake Schanfaber, 6-3, 5-7, 11-9.
In the No. 2 doubles match, M-CHS’s Grant Gasaway and Jace Mueller were by Micah Hwane and Will Downs, 6-3, 6-2, and at No. 3 doubles, M-CHS’s Zach Lambson and Rowdy Veach lost to Blaise Page and Calvin Larson, 7-5, 6-1.
“We lost our energy and we were pretty tired (in the second set),” said Lampson. “It was getting hot (outside) and (our opponents) were trying harder.”
At No. 4 doubles, M-CHS’s Billy Broughten and Keelyn Chandler were defeated 6-2, 6-3, by Amon Ledger-Swenson and Jake Beekoman.
The Panthers forfeited the No. 2 singles match after Samir Berrada missed his second consecutive match due illness.
Now less than two weeks removed from its Regional Tournament, M-CHS will look to improve during matches against Grand Junction and Montrose on Sept. 27. The match against Grand Junction will begin at 9 a.m. and the match against Montrose will begin at 3 p.m.
“I’m not going to lie, we don’t have the best team in the league,” said Walker, discussing M-CHS’s upcoming matchups. “I think we should just go in with a good attitude and play to the best of our abilities.”