Marble Falls tennis ends season at state tourney

CAPTION: Cooper Womack returned to the Class 4A state tournament for the second year in a row. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls High School tennis program’s season culminated at the Class 4A state tournament May 15-16 in San Antonio.

Junior Cooper Womack lost in the first round to Malcolm Moore of Dallas Pinkston 3-6, 2-6, and the boys doubles team of Weston York and Cooper Kelley lost to Zachary Bobo and Jackson Tomberlain of Texarkana Pleasant Grove 0-6, 0-6 in the first round.

Though the finishes weren’t what the Mustangs wanted, head coach Samuel Whitley noted the positives from the experience and the season.

The coach said when the drawings were released soon after the regional tournaments ended, he and Womack knew the challenges that awaited him.

Moore was the state runner-up in boys singles last year.

“He has an eight (Universal Tennis Rating), which is fairly high,” Whitley said. “Cooper knew he’d have a tough match. Cooper played well; (Moore) played extremely well. (Womack) hasn’t played a lot of opponents with a big serve, and he didn’t make a lot of mistakes. I think Cooper played as well as he could.”

He noted players with strong first serves put the receiver “on the defensive.” The coach added that Womack hadn’t played anyone with strong first serves until the Class 4A Region III tournament. Attempting to ensure the Mustang saw a wide range of opponents during the pre-district campaign is why he scheduled so many Class 5A and 6A opponents leading up to the District 24-4A tournament. But very few opponents during the season had that skill.

“It’s hard,” the coach said. “It helps if you can see it a lot. He does not. We serve to him. But he still can’t duplicate the speed of the ball coming at you. He played well. He didn’t lay down or fold. He played hard.”

Whitley noted that Kelley and York “didn’t have a favorable drawing” as they made their debut at the state tournament.

“This is all brand new to them,” he said. “Each level is different. Regionals is a lot stronger than district; state is stronger than regionals with 24 of the best. It’s brand new to them, and they did as well as they could.”

Just like in singles, Bobo and Tomberlain were consistently good with first serves.

“That’s extremely important,” Whitley said. “It paved the way for them to go on the attack. They played extremely well at the net.”

Following the match, the coach found Kelley, who is a sophomore.

“Back in August, did you expect to be here,” Whitley asked.

“No,” Kelley replied.

“In January, did you expect to be here,” the coach asked and got the same response from his player. “You have risen above your expectations. Be proud of that. The goal is to get back here next year.”

While the state tournament didn’t play out like they wanted, a change at the regional tournaments allowed the three to advance to the final weekend of play. Each won their bronze medal matches to advance. This is the first year the University Interscholastic League welcomed the top three from each region to the state tournament.

Whitley said he’s a fan.

“It gives kids more opportunities,” he said.