Grace Competes in the TTCA State Team Tennis Championships
The varsity team had a great trip to College Station last weekend as they competed in the TTCA State Team Tennis Championships. 16 teams from around the state competed in a format consisting of a total of 13 matches per team event. Most of our players played both singles and doubles each round, which meant that they played 16 sets each in two days! That is more tennis than we have played all season, but they rose to the occasion. For the first time this season, every player on our team won at least one match throughout the weekend against some very good teams. In the first round, we fell short to Abilene Christian 7-4. In round 2, we played John Paul II in our best match of the season. JP II has a very good program and they edged out the win 7-6. Kaleigh Lopez and Savannah Hopson played a 2.5hr doubles match and won in a 3rd set tiebreak 11-9 to keep us in the match and pulled off a big upset. Round 3 was again Concordia Lutheran at 8am on day 2. We had a slow start, but pulled it together to set the stage for the last round against Liberty Christian. This was another nail biter with the final result ending 6-7 for Liberty Christian.
Fun facts about the tournament
- Grace was the only team to have 2 matches go all the way to 7–6 in the entire tournament
- Our boys singles went undefeated
- Shout out to Kaleigh Lopez and Claire Malone. When the matches were tied 6-6, these were the players on court (playing singles) that determined the winner. Both teams lined the court and were cheering and supporting their players. The amount of pressure in that situation is indescribable, but I could not be more proud of how they handled themselves in that moment. They were gracious, competitive, and energized all at the same time. Their efforts brought our team closer and has helped set the stage for our district preparation after spring break!