Playing three matches in the course of four days, the Grand County High School boys tennis team showed strong play, defeating Gunnison and San Juan, and losing a close match to Parowan.

The April 19 game against Gunnison was a rescheduled match, and Grand came away with a 3-2 win, but the following day, Tuesday, April 20, the Red Devil boys suffered a close 3-2 loss to Parowan.

The team’s highlight of the week came on Thursday, April 22, when Grand avenged an earlier defeat and beat San Juan, said coach Ed DeFrancia. After missing three matches due to illness Grand’s Ravon Martin was back at No. 1 singles. Although he couldn’t come up with a win, he played solid tennis, DeFrancia said. Martin also lost to Parowan and San Juan, but showed steady improvement, according to the coach.

Zak Hazlett confirmed his ranking as the top seed for No. 2 singles, winning all three of his matches in convincing fashion. Against Gunnison, he dropped the first set in a tie-break but quickly regrouped and took the next two sets.

Logan Lewis moved back to his usual No. 3 singles position, and came away with three wins. His challenge came against Parowan, when he also dropped the first set before taking the match.

“Both these guys needed these kinds of matches just to remind themselves that they need to play their best from the start,” DeFrancia said. “Neither quit on themselves, and as they settled in, they played with great confidence.”

Grand’s doubles teams had mixed success. Zach Johnson and Kris Kemp suffered a three-set loss to Gunnison. Swain Begaye and Kory Sheldon lost a close match to Parowan, but cruised to an easy win over Gunnison, and came back to beat San Juan in three sets. At No. 2 doubles, they are now one of the top teams in the region, DeFrancia said.

The Red Devil junior varsity players have not gotten as much time on the court, as many teams either don’t have a JV team or the JV team does not travel to away matches. Most of Grand’s JV players did play matches with Gunnison and San Juan.

Cameron Butler, Trenton White, Chad Hatathlaye, Matz Indergard and Evan Schilling scored wins in singles play, and Macrae Olsen, Russell Minor, Dalon Bradshaw and Brandon Johnson brought home wins in doubles competition.

“For the most part, this group has really hung in there. They are still challenging for varsity spots and continually working on their individual play,” DeFrancia said. “It’s a great sign for the future of the boys program.”

Up next for the boys is one last region match against Millard, at home on Tuesday, April 27. The region tournament, to determine state qualifiers, takes place at South Sevier High School on Friday, April 30. DeFrancis said the team has set a goal to get the entire team to qualify.

“We’ll know in a few days. But as with any goal, it’s good if you reach it, and it’s o.k. if you don’t,” DeFrancia said. “These guys have worked hard and done well all year, shown great sportsmanship and have helped each other through some rough times. Those are lessons we could all learn.”