Nelson nets fourth-place finish at girls tennis regional
GRAND JUNCTION — Glenwood Springs High School No. 1 singles player Sophia Nelson managed a fourth-place finish on Friday after falling in the third-place match of the Class 4A Western Slope Regional Tennis Tournament at Canyonview Park.
Nelson, who played Aspen’s Caroline Godfrey, fell in the third-place match 6-1, 6-2. Her fourth-place finish was the top individual place for the Demons at the tournament. The sophomore won twice on Thursday to reach the tournament semifinals at No. 1 singles, beating Cedaredge’s Abby Burget 6-3, 6-2, and Hotchkiss’ Shelby Rogers 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, before falling to Alyssa Arellano of Montrose, 6-4, 6-1, in Thursday’s semis.
Nelson then bounced back in the consolation bracket to beat Racquel Lucero of Montezuma Cortez, 6-1, 6-4, to set up her matchup with Godfrey in the third-place match.
The top two players in each of the seven brackets go to the 4A state tournament.
At No. 2 singles, Glenwood senior Ivy Wight was eliminated after a second-round loss to Jessie Holt of Hotchkiss, falling 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. She beat Skye Cole of Cortez in the first round, 7-6(10), 6-2.
No other Glenwood players made it past the first round.
At No. 3 singles, Glenwood’s Kelly Thrun fall to Aspen’s emily Puder in the first round. Also falling in the first round was Glenwood’s Kenna Zilm and Martiza Ruiz, who fell to Kelsey Stroud and McKenna Erickson of Hotchkiss 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 doubles.
The pair of Avery Nieslanik and Taylor Fiscus lost in straight sets to Delta’s Cassidy Parker and Lizzy Ward, 6-1, 6-0, at No. 2 doubles. Glenwood’s No. 3 doubles team of Nina Aley and Savannah Kelly dropped a 6-1, 6-3, first-round decision against Vail Mountain’s Chapin Benwsy and Ella Mueller. Winning in the first round at No. 4 doubles was the Montrose team of Jessica Ennis and Sarah Bray, who beat Hannah Slack and Linda Ramirez 6-3, 6-0.
“All of the girls played really well,” first-year Glenwood coach Jon Zalinski said. “They’ve shown a lot of progress during the season, and I’m hoping that some playing time during the summer will help that continue.”
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