GCHS freshman Kayla Weston returns a shot during her match against San Juan on Thursday, Sept. 13. Weston is currently undefeated in region play. Photo by Mary Rice
The week started off well for the Lady Devils during away games against Emery and Gunnison. On Sept. 11, the girls played Emery, where the Lady Devils won four of the five events for the day.
GCHS senior Brianna Ballard continued her winning streak in the No. 1 singles division, and senior Torrie Lopez scored another win for Grand in No. 2 singles. Freshman Kayla Weston also has yet to be beaten, emerging triumphant in the No. 3 singles match.
Grand’s doubles players had mixed results. Junior Jacey Johnson and freshman Brityn Ballard lost their No. 1 doubles match, but junior Madi Stocks and freshman Robin Wilscheidt won in the No. 2 doubles division.
The Lady Devil junior varsity team split their matches, 2-2. GCHS juniors Deanna Irvin and Shalia Harmison won their doubles match, while junior Becca Farnsworth and freshman Brittnee Lewis lost, as did sophomores Rebecca Minor and Cassidy Walker. Junior Kim Lewis won her JV singles match.
Later in the day, Grand traveled to Gunnison, where they swept the competition by winning all five of their events. Ballard, Lopez and Weston played the singles slots again, while Johnson and Ballard and Stocks, and Harmison competed in the doubles division.
Grand’s junior varsity team went 3-1 at Gunnison, with Irvin and Farnsworth winning their doubles match. Walker and Brittnee Lewis also won their doubles match, while Minor lost her singles event. Kim Lewis was once again victorious in singles, giving Grand the JV win over the Lady Bulldogs junior varsity team.
Later in the week, the Lady Devils played their homecoming matches against San Juan in Moab. While the competition was tougher, the Lady Devils still rallied and came out with a victory in their last match of the season, 3-2.
All of Grand’s singles players won their matches, with Ballard, Lopez, and Weston sweeping the singles slots. However, Johnson and Brityn Ballard lost the No. 1 doubles match, as did Stocks and Wilscheidt in the No. 2 doubles event. Overall, the Lady Devils sent San Juan home with a loss as Grand prepares to move into region play next week.
“I am very impressed by our team,” said head coach Brian Ballard. “The girls are really stepping up. They’ve put in a lot of hard work at practice and they are doing very, very well. Going into region next week, I think we have a pretty good standing. We hope to go in and play well, enough so that all of our girls can go to state. I couldn’t be more proud of these girls. They’ve been playing very well, and their hearts are really in it here at the end.”
The Lady Devils will travel to Richfield on Friday, Sept. 21 to compete in the region tournament, which will determine which teams qualify to compete at the state competition. The state tournament is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 29 at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City.