This past weekend, the WarDogs (Palisade and Central) tennis team competed in the Western Slope Open ending in immense success and achievements. This tournament included the WarDogs, Grand Junction High School, and various Denver teams such as Regis and Ralston Valley High School, known to be very competitive, prestigious schools for athletics. One of the largest successes of the Friday and Saturday tournaments was the WarDogs one doubles team earning a respectable third place. Sydney Maurer and Haley Ammons secured their third place by examining sportsmanship and encouragement towards each other. Ammons exclaims, “I feel really really good about my partnership. We have a very good mental balance because we can be serious but also let loose and have a good time. We also even each other out with our strengths and weaknesses which makes successful rallies.” Ammons has been playing tennis since she was in middle school but began to take it more seriously her freshman year causing a lot of growth from her four doubles spot on the varsity team last year. This was the first time in many years that a WarDog team had placed in this large tournament. For the rest of the team, there were many exciting wins and close matches that kept viewers on the edge of their seats. Collectively, the team illustrated immense dedication and persistence, setting a hopeful mood with many more wins for the rest of the season. Ammons exclaims, “This weekend was a good measure of how successful we can become and sparked a goal of making it to state and having many more wins together.” The next match takes place this Thursday where the WarDogs will go head-to-head with Grand Junction. Good luck and congratulations for the major accomplishments of the lady WarDogs as they continue to make great strides.