Marble Falls tennis beats Legacy Ranch

CAPTION: Senior Cooper Womack picks up a big win against Mason in a non-district match. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls High School team tennis squad defeated Liberty Hill Legacy Ranch 15-4 Sept. 25 to finish second in the District 24-4A race.

What was impressive about this victory, however, is that Marble Falls was represented by mostly underclassmen.

Head coach Samuel Whitley chose to take his underclassmen, leaving his upperclassmen in Marble Falls to play Mason in non-district matches.

“I basically took what I consider to be my next year’s team,” he said. “I put them in their projected spots. I had two juniors. We had a lot of first-year players.”

He pointed out many of the set scores were 6-4 and 6-4.

“There were no easy matches,” the coach said. “Some went to tiebreakers. They were definitely matches we were able to win. It’s a preview of what we’ll have next year.”

Whitley said he believed these players could get the job done for several reasons.

“The players we took are pretty darn good,” he said. “Four of those boys and three of those girls have played in varsity matches this year. We have a strong group of underclassmen to fill in for next year.”

Another reason is because these athletes are playing for varsity spots every week.

“We play challenge matches all the time,” the coach said. “Our young kids are playing our older kids – they’re getting good competition every day. Our senior class is so strong that our juniors and our sophomores are playing strong matches all the time.”

Mason defeated Marble Falls 13-6. Despite the outcome, Whitley pointed out some positives. One was that senior Cooper Womack defeated a familiar Puncher.

“Cooper won very easily versus a guy who beat him last year,” he said.

Assistant coach Nathan Redman, who stayed in Marble Falls with these Mustangs, noted the mentality the players had when they stepped on the court. Their intensity compelled Whitley to say that had his players had the same mindset against Little River Academy Sept. 11, which beat Marble Falls 18-1, there’s a good chance the Mustangs and Lady Mustangs would have won some more matches.

“We won more matches yesterday than we won the last three years,” Whitley said. “Our girls won quite a few of those matches and played extremely well from what coach Redman said. We did a good job across the board. Mason is a strong team; they have strong players. We feel very good about what we saw yesterday.”

Marble Falls will end the regular season by hosting Burnet at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Then the Mustangs and Lady Mustangs will welcome the Liberty Hill junior varsity in warm-up matches at 4:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, before starting the Class 4A Division I playoffs.

Marble Falls will play San Antonio Davenport in the first round of the playoffs Tuesday, Oct. 6, with time and site still to be determined.

RESULTS

Marble Falls def. Liberty Hill Legacy Ranch 15-4

BOYS

Singles

J. Smith lost to Shreyan 3-6, 6-4, 4-10; Sowers def. Canice 6-2, 6-4; S. Smith def. Srikar 6-4, 6-4; Hargraves def. Urban 6-0, 6-0; Dehorty def. Agastya 6-0, 6-1; Elder def. Murari 6-2, 6-4

Doubles

J. Smith and S. Smith def. Shreyan and Strikar 6-3, 6-2; C. Hargraves and H. Dehorty def. Canice and Urban 6-2, 6-2; B. Sowers def. K. Elder def. Agasta and Murari 6-0, 6-0

GIRLS

Singles

Cook lost to Aashinya 2-6, 6-3, 6-10; Hamblin def. Shreemayi 7-5, 6-4; Osloond lost to Revaa 3-6, 1-6; Flores def. Nirmala 6-2, 6-4; Moffett def. Aurel 6-4, 6-3; Danielle def. Madi 6-3, 6-1

Doubles

H. Cook and B. Osloond lost to Shreemayi and Aashinya 3-6, 4-6; A. Flores. and S. Hamblin def. Revaa and Nalani 6-4, 6-2; J. Moffett and D. Topfer def. Nah and Landry 6-2, 6-2