Marble Falls team tennis gets ready for the playoffs

CAPTION: Nevaeh Nelson (Montoya) is one reason why Marble Falls added another runner-up finish in district play in the last two years. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls High School team tennis team defeated Burnet 19-0 Oct. 1 to finish District 25-4A no worse than second in the standings.

The final standings will be complete after Cameron Yoe and Little River Academy meet Oct. 3. Academy is in first place.

Meanwhile, Marble Falls earned a 6-1 district record with the only blemish to Academy 6-13 Sept. 12. The Mustangs and Lady Mustangs defeated Cameron Yoe 14-5 Aug. 22.

But what has pleased head coach Samuel Whitley is the team’s match totals against Belton New Tech, Burnet, Lago Vista and Salado. All four were in the team tennis district with the Mustangs and Lady Mustangs in 2023.

With sweeps against three programs and a near sweep of the fourth, Marble Falls won 73 of the 76 matches played. A total of 19 matches are played against each program.

“I knew we were going to have a powerful team,” Whitley said. “After playing Cameron (to start district play) and beating them, at that point I felt we’d finish in the top two.”

And what the team is learning is what two-time boys singles district champion Cooper Womack continues to master — taking on every opponent’s best and still winning.

“He understands that pressure that comes with being No. 1,” the coach said.

To illustrate how the others are making strides, Whitley pointed to three tiebreakers against Burnet his players gutted out. One was a boys singles match featuring Cooper Kelley.

“Cooper stepped up under pressure and helped us finish off Burnet,” he said. “He won a seven-point tiebreaker to win the second set. There were no gimmes in some of those matches. We were down in two matches after losing the first set. What I try to emphasize is you’re not playing an opponent; you’re always playing the ball. Most of our kids have learned that concept. They know that their job is to get the ball back across the net and get (the opponent) to make a mistake.”

If Marble Falls enters the playoffs as the No. 2 seed, it will face Ingram Tom Moore tentatively scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8, at Fredericksburg High School.

“They have a good program,” Whitley said. “We haven’t taken first place. We’re still hungry. Don’t look at the outcome – enjoy the process.”

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RESULTS

BOYS

Singles

Womack def. Dietrich 6-1, 6-1; Kelley def. Smith 6-2, 7-6, 7-3, York def. Suchomel 7-5, 6-0; N. Smith def. Castillo 6-3, 6-7, 8-6; Farris def. Saldivar 6-1, 6-3; Glaser def. Vega-Palacious 6-2, 6-2

Doubles

Womack and Kelley def. Dietrich and Suchomel 6-1, 6-0; N. Smith and S. Smith def. Castillo and Saldivar 6-1, 6-1; Farris and Banton def. Vega Palacios and Soult 6-0, 6-0

GIRLS

Singles

Nelson def. Massey 6-2, 6-3; Trudeau def. Burns 2-6, 6-2, 10-6; Brown def. Luna 6-3, 6-3; Taylor def. Allbritton 6-3, 6-1; Hernandez def. Halford 6-1, 6-1; Gosselink def. Smith-Perez 6-0, 6-2

Doubles

Trudeau and Brown def. Burns and Luna 6-2, 6-2; Morales and Hernandez def. Allbritton and Halford 6-1, 6-1; Taylor and Vandiford def. Smith-Perez and Untermeyer 6-1, 6-0;

Mixed doubles

Glaser and Nelson def. Smith and Massey 2-6, 7-5, 10-6