Lady Devils open tennis season with loss to San Juan
by Jeff Richards
Contributing Writer
Aug 28, 2014 | 2482 views | 0 0 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Kayla Weston of Grand warms up for a tennis match against the San Juan Lady Broncos on Aug. 25. Photo by Jeff Richards
Kayla Weston of Grand warms up for a tennis match against the San Juan Lady Broncos on Aug. 25. Photo by Jeff Richards
slideshow
The Grand County High School girls tennis team started off its season with a home loss against the San Juan Lady Broncos on the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 25.

Despite the loss, Brian Ballard, now starting his fourth year as the Lady Devils’ head coach, said that he is excited about the outlook for the upcoming season.

“We have a fairly young team, with a good mix of experienced and younger players,” Ballard said. “We should be competitive this year.”

A total of 16 girls are currently competing on the Lady Devils’ roster, he said.

The Lady Broncos swept the Lady Devils in all five varsity matches on Monday. In the No. 1 singles match, junior Kayla Weston of Grand faced San Juan’s Mary Royer. Royer, who placed second at state last year, defeated Weston, 6-1, 6-1.

In No. 2 singles, San Juan’s Klea Hurst defeated junior Brityn Ballard of Grand in two sets by the score of 6-4, 6-2.

Grand’s Robin Willscheidt-Johnson, a senior, beat San Juan’s Jessica Swenson 7-5 in the first set in the No. 3 singles competition, but Willscheidt-Johnson lost the next two sets by the score of 4-6, 3-6. The hard-fought match lasted nearly three hours, she said.

In No. 1 doubles, Grand’s duo of Tierra Hawks and Emma Sweeney lost to their San Juan counterparts, 2-6, 4-6. The Lady Devils also lost their No. 2 doubles match, as Mandolin Wilkinson and Madison Johnson were defeated 0-6, 1-6.

The San Juan Lady Broncos, which have 39 players on their roster, also played Grand’s remaining girls tennis players in several junior varsity matches that followed Monday’s varsity matches.

Other players on Grand’s roster include Cassidy Walker, Rosie Fleming, Brooke Mick, Brooklan Chant, Coya Pair-Mossien, Sam Dutton, Aiah Zarahiah, and Kyra Scovill. 

Grand’s assistant girls tennis coaches are Charlie Kulander, Danette Johnson and Jil Kulander.

The Lady Devils next play at at Gunnison on Thursday, Aug. 28. Grand’s next home match is against Manti on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
Share This Article |

Copyright 2013 The Times-Independent. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

report abuse...

Express yourself:

We're glad to give readers a forum to express their points of view on issues important to this community. That forum is the “Letters to the Editor.” Letters to the editor may be submitted directly to The Times-Independent through this link and will be published in the print edition of the newspaper. All letters must be the original work of the letter writer – form letters will not be accepted. All letters must include the actual first and last name of the letter writer, the writer’s address, city and state and telephone number. Anonymous letters will not be accepted.

Letters may not exceed 400 words in length, must be regarding issues of general interest to the community, and may not include personal attacks, offensive language, ethnic or racial slurs, or attacks on personal or religious beliefs. Letters should focus on a single issue. Letters that proselytize or focus on theological debates will not be published. During political campaigns, The Times-Independent will not publish letters supporting or opposing any local candidate. Thank you letters are generally not accepted for publication unless the letter has a public purpose. Thank you letters dealing with private matters that compliment or complain about a business or individual will not be published. Nor will letters listing the names of individuals and/or businesses that supported a cause or event. Thank you letters about good Samaritan acts will be considered at the discretion of the newspaper.