Grand Junction Central and Grand Junction left town last Friday and Saturday without a loss against a Panthers tennis team that came in 3-1.
The two 5A schools brought outstanding levels of play to the Jim Harkendorff Tennis Courts and beat 4A Montezuma-Cortez High School, 7-0, in each match.
Coach Dan Wood said the matches gave his players a great opportunity to compete against very talented players and therefore, get used to more power and accuracy from their opponents. Grand Junction is one of the top tennis programs in the state of Colorado. The experience should help M-CHS (3-3) in the upcoming Delta High School tournament this Friday and Saturday.
Im looking forward to that tournament, Wood said. Weve got a widespread of abilities in that tournament. Its going to be a great experience for everybody. Last year, we finished about the middle of the pack. Im thinking we can come in the top-three. Thats what our goal is.
The Friday match against Central was a close competition. Both the top singles contests featured great play. Graham Cathey lost to Jesi Nordstrom after a very close first set, 5-7, and then Nordstrom put together a strong effort to win the second set, 6-0.
The matches are a lot of fun, because playing with better players is how you get better, said Cathey, a junior. I had a lot of fun against the Central kid. It was a good match. The Grand Junction kid, I played really well, but hes a great player. Hes been playing No. 1s for one of the top schools since he was a freshman. Its just the way it goes.
At No. 2 singles, Logan Dean was defeated by Drake Giese, 3-6, 3-6. Both of these matches drew strong applause from the audience throughout the match, especially after long powerful rallies at the baseline.
Theyre both really good teams. The guy from Central has been my rival for quite a while, said Dean, a junior. I think I played fairly well. I made a lot of mistakes, but at least I know what I did and what I can improve on. (Its) getting out of no-mans-land, which is in between the service line and the baseline. You get caught in there, and youre in trouble.
At No. 1 doubles, Todd Underwood and Jake Valdez lost a very close match to Travis Liden and Camren Thomas in the third set tiebreaker, 5-10.
Yesterday, we played pretty strong. Me and my partner, Todd, we could have taken that all the way, said Valdez, a senior captain, about the No. 1 doubles match against Central. We really need to practice on the tough shots. I feel really confident out there with Todd.
Wyatt Yates and Tyler Daniel also had a very close match in their loss to Brent Bollinger and Bryce Atchison at No. 3 doubles. After tight sets won by each team, Central won the tiebreaker 10-7.
Only a few points made the difference in the Panthers loss to Central, according to Wood.
However, the match against Grand Junction Saturday was a different story. The Panthers only won three games in the seven matches, but they kept their heads high. M-CHS walked off the courts knowing that it was a worthwhile experience to play against some of the best players in the state.
The Panthers return to Delta on Friday and Saturday where theyve had success this season. Matches and times have yet to be determined.
Its a great tournament for us, Wood said. It provides opportunities for everybody. Everybody gets to play and its two days.
