Varsity Tennis Takes on McNeil Tournament

Varsity Fall Season Ends

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Jack Densmore

Junior Adhithya Balaji preparing to strike the ball across the court.

by Jack Densmore, Staff Writer

The varsity tennis team closed off their fall season for the 2014-2015 year when they went to the McNeil tournament this past week.

Boys-Singles faced tough matches when junior Russell Thomas faced a tough loss in the first round against Henderson 8-4. Thomas would later get second in the consolation after falling short to Stony Point. Senior Hector Carrillo had a tough day after coming up short in the first round against McNeil. Carrillo would later face a tough loss in the consolation against Cedar Creek. Senior Rose James gained a victory in the first round against Hutto. James later advanced into the second round and defeated Cedar Ridge. James would later fall short in the final round against Henderson.

“I felt well,” senior Kiefer Peckham said. “My doubles partner and I worked hard to prepare.”

Girls-Singles faced a tough match when sophomore Emilee Scanlon came up short in the first round against McNeil 8-0. Scanlon would later face a tough loss in the consolation against Henderson.

Well, in the past years I had played girls doubles. This tournament I played mixed for the first time,” senior Bailee Higgins said. “I was a bit nervous, because the playing styles vary from mixed to girls doubles. But, luckily I had a good partner and it ended up being really fun.”

B-Doubles went into the later rounds and came close to getting first place when senior Joseph Rexrode and senior Keaton Adcock won the first round, and then advanced to the second round and defeated McNeil. Rexrode and Adcock would also beat Taylor in the third round before losing to Rouse in the final round. Junior Luis Farias and junior Adhithya Balaji won the first round against Stony Point 8-1 and would advance to the second round and would score 6-1 in the first set and 6-2 in the second set to beat Cedar Creek. Farias and Balaji would later come up short in the third round to Round Rock.

“The season didn’t end the way we wanted it, but we gave it all we had,” said Peckham. “It was great to watch the younger players mature right in front of our eyes. Everybody played their hearts and were ‘being a senior’.”

G-Doubles faced some tough matches when sophomore Lauren Fuller and sophomore Alexandra Petersen came up short in the first round against Henderson 8-1. Fuller and Petersen would later face a tough loss in the consolation against Round Rock. Senior Katie Lofton and junior Madison Flesner would win both sets in the first round 6-1 and 6-0. Lofton and Flesner would later come up short against Taylor.

“It was a really small tournament so it was only three rounds. Our second round was tough,” Higgins said. “We won in a tie breaker 10-6. So, I didn’t know if we would play challenging people or not.”

Mixed-Doubles had a field day when senior Alper Orkun and senior Ashley Snieder gained a victory against Stony Point, but would later come up short in the semi-final round against Rouse. Senior Kiefer Peckham and Higgins would go on to win their bracket when they defeated Stony Point in the first round and would advance to the second round and defeat Cedar Ridge. Peckham and Higgins would later win against Round Rock and win first in the bracket.

“It felt great to finally win the tourney, but even better to do it against Rouse,” Peckham said. “It was very rewarding for all the hard work to pay off.”

This tournament wraps up the fall season for varsity tennis, and the team is reflecting on their season and preparing for the next season in spring 2015.

“Well it was a bit tough, because we lost a lot of girls,” Higgins said. “So, the girls side was really young and lacking experience, but they gave it their all. Alex Peterson and Lauren Fuller really stepped up. As for the boys side, they were really solid. The two seed boys doubles, Kiefer Peckham and Keaton Adcock, were almost undefeated. At the end of the season, our win to loss score wasn’t as good as we hoped, but we grew as a team.”