Notebook: Hanna dominates Day 1
After a long Day 1 of action, the finals are set in the District 32-5A tennis tournament.
In boys singles, Carlos Vargas of Porter will take on Luis Castillo of Rivera, while in girls singles, Sofia Montemayor of Hanna will take on Sierra Pizarro of San Benito.
In doubles, it was Hanna dominated, as its team of Andy Garcia and Claudio Sosa will play in the boys doubles final against Hugo Chavez and Owen Gijon of Rivera.
In girls doubles, the sister team of Carolina and Marithe Guerra will headline that field, while in mixed doubles, Daniel Medrano and Carina Samiejo will take on Flo Comacho and Mandy Calederon of Weslaco High.
"Because of the high winds, there was a lot of creative tennis going on out here," Hanna coach Terry Hoover said. "It was just a matter of trying to survive."
Still, with a representative in all but one final, it was a strong day for the Golden Eagles.
"That’s good, but we lost some close matches that coaches are never happy about," Hoover said. "But overall, we did very well."
ONE-SIDED
In District 32-4A, it’s shaping up to be a Roma-dominated final round.
"I knew my team was good going in, but they’re proving themselves where they are," Roma coach Eddie Marquez said.
Both boys singles and boys doubles will be an all-Roma final. The Gladiators’ Julia Perez will be in the girls singles final. Girls doubles will also feature a team from Roma.
It is state-ranked for a reason.
"They’ve got to take us down," Marquez said. "It’s hard, not many teams can do that."
WIDE OPEN
Unlike other districts, 30-5A tennis appears to be up for grabs.
The district tournament, set for today and Saturday at Sharyland, features three different schools — Sharyland, McAllen High and McAllen Rowe — boasting top seeds in different divisions.
"Of course we would like to get everybody from (our) own school into the regional tournament," Sharyland boys coach Mike Salinas said. "(But) I think competition is always good."
This group of Rattlers, which are fronted by No. 1 boys singles seed Andres Tajonar, are a little bit younger and a little bit more raw than some previous teams that have come through the school. But, that doesn’t mean they’re going to take a step back.
"I think we should qualify at least one team in each division," Salinas said. "We’re just one of those teams where we’re learning as we’re going."
NORTH CANAL STREET BULLIES
Over in District 32-3A, there is one clear favorite heading into the district tournament Saturday and Monday at Harlingen Tennis Center.
"It’s kind of become routine, some people think we have it easy, but the thing is, we work hard to get where we’re at," La Feria coach Juan Hernandez said. "We try to keep up with the big schools, that’s what helps us win at the 3A level."
The Lions have dominated the girls field for the last 12 years and the boys side for the last nine. This year, they have the top two seeds in every division except boys singles, where Zapata’s Trey Alvarez is seeded second.
"Confidence is high, trying to repeat last year," Hernandez said. "Trying for the same, or to win them all."
The top qualifiers from each division advance to the regional tournament April 20-21 in both Corpus Christi and Harlingen. And since La Feria could very well be the only Rio Grande Valley team sending players to the tournament, that means Hernandez could be the only Valley coach voting for seeding in that tournament.
That will leave Hernandez out-manned against the San Antonio and Corpus Christi coaches.
"They tend to vote with their districts, their regions," he said. "Sometimes we’re out-voted at the regional level by other coaches."
THE WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART
The District 30-5A boys still have some time to kill.
Its district golf tournament won’t begin until Monday at Palmview, as the coaches collectively decided to wait until the last possible window to complete their district season.
"By going next week, that’s our home course (Palmview), that gives people in our district an extra day (they) can practice," McAllen High coach Greg Kiger said.
Once the district tournament is completed, each qualified team or player can practice at the site of the regional tournament just once. And since Palmview is the site of both the district and regional tournaments this year, it allows each 30-5A team time to get in more rounds before the regional tournament.
And in 30-5A, all eyes are on one team.
"Sharyland’s definitely the frontrunner," Kiger said.
Though, for the first time all year, Kiger’s squad bested the Rattlers earlier this week in the pre-district tournament.
With those two teams in contention — along with the Sharyland B team and McAllen Memorial — it should be and interesting two days of action.
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.
