Six Valley teams head to team tennis regionals
The Harlingen South Hawks were right there last year.
Now, they hope to get over that ever-elusive hump that is New Braunfels.
The Hawks are one of six Rio Grande Valley teams heading to the Region IV-5A Team Tennis Tournament today and Saturday at the HEB Tennis Center in Corpus Christi.
South claimed District 31-5A, with PSJA North grabbing the second spot. Brownsville Hanna and Brownsville Rivera are going from 32-5A, while Sharyland and McAllen High claimed the spots in 30-5A.
"Our goal is to reach the final again, reduplicate what we did last year," South coach Noe Stillman said. "On paper, we should be seeded second."
The region seeds the top four teams, with the remaining teams (12 in all) randomly drawn into the four brackets headlined by the top seeds. However, in the initial draw, teams cannot play the other team from their district and a district champion must play a second place team.
Still, that’s not all that comforting to Hanna coach Terry Hoover, whose team once again won 32-5A this season.
"There are some really good No. 2 teams out there," Hoover said. "You get to that level, everybody’s good. There’s no weak team anymore, you’ve got to get up there and play. That’s the exciting part."
Only the winner of the region goes on to the state tournament, which will be held Nov. 4 and 5 at Texas A&M University. The favorite to get there from Region IV, of course, is reigning state champion New Braunfels. San Antonio Churchill and Reagan will also be factors.
For Stillman, whose team lost in the final 10-1 to New Braunfels last year, it will certainly be a challenge.
"It’s been good, we’ve been working hard on our girls side," Stillman said. "Now, everything (comes) down, we’re just going to band-aid some things and … see what we can do."
No matter what happens in the opening matches this morning, the teams are guaranteed another game in the consolation bracket, which will begin in the afternoon. The semifinals and final will take place Saturday.
"We’ve been working really hard, it’s a great opportunity to find out how good we are," Hoover said. "This is what we’ve been working for all year. Yea, we’re excited."
Meanwhile, over in 32-4A, district champion Roma and runner-up Mercedes are in San Antonio for the Region IV-4A Tournament today and Saturday at the Alamo Heights Tennis Center.
The Gladiators enter as one of the five best teams in the region and will either be seeded (first four teams) or placed (sixth through eighth).
"Everything’s going smooth right now, I’ve got these kids believing in themselves. That’s the main thing," Roma coach Eddie Marquez said. "These kids are prepared mentally, physically, and I believe they’re ready to go."
The weather, though, won’t be friendly to anyone, especially the southern most teams in the region. Expectations are that it will be in the 40’s, which won’t do any favors to the Gladiators or the Tigers.
But, Marquez still thinks his team has a chance to make some noise.
"My expectations are to play one of the top seeds, hopefully in the semifinals," he said. "We’ll go from there."
Like 5A, the first two rounds take place today while the semifinals and final are Saturday. But, unlike 5A, each team is guaranteed to play four games, regardless of how they do.
Todd Orodenker covers golf and tennis for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via e-mail at torodenker@brownsvilleherald.com. Follow him on Twitter @ToddO243.
