Centerville boys bring home a medal in state tennis tournament

Garrett Ward and Daniel Kendall are all smiles after their quarter-final victory. The Centerville Tennis team had 4 representatives at the UIL State Tennis Championships held May 10-11 at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center on the UT campus in Austin. The Tigers were well represented in the tournament.

Kelsey Lagrone and Hannah Word had to start off the day in girls’ doubles at 7:00 a.m. on Monday morning due to one of their opponents having to play in the state golf tournament, along with the tennis. Kelsey and Hannah started off well against the team from Melissa, and stayed even with them in the 1st set until at 4-4, Melissa took the lead and finished off the set at 6-4. From there, the Melissa team, who were tall and very athletic, took charge, controlling the net and got a quick lead in the 2nd set. Centerville was never able to get their rhythm and lost the 2nd set 6-0. Kelsey and Han- nah had a terrific season and should be very proud of their accomplishments. They are superstar athletes, not only making it to state in tennis, but in track! Way to go girls!

Daniel Kendall and Garrett Ward competed in boys doubles and faced the team from Florence 1st round. Daniel and Garrett quickly dispatched Florence in the 1st set 6-0 and then went on to win the match 6-4 in the 2nd. This placed them in the state semi-finals where they had to face the tough team from Malakoff - James King and Dylan Neal. Neal placed 2nd in state last year in boys’ doubles with his brother. Centerville played Malakoff in April before regional’s and lost

to them 6-0, 6-1, so they knew that this match would be very tough.

Malakoff quickly jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first set, but the Centerville boys stayed calm and started getting into a rhythm and came back to tie it 4-4. Malakoff kept the pressure, however, and won the first set 6-4. This didn't get Daniel and Garrett down. They came back in the 2nd set with a vengeance and won the 2nd set 6-2. It all boiled down to one set to make it to the state finals. At 1-1, Malakoff took the lead all the way to 4-1, before Centerville tied it back up at 4-4. Centerville then lost their serve, and Neal served at 5-4, with an ace on match point to win the match. Daniel and Garrett got a standing ovation from the crowd for their fantastic effort on the court. They received bronze medals and are the first ever state medalists from Centerville in tennis. Their final overall record for the season is 29-6 and they plan to be back next year! Congratulations for a great season!

The four youth excel in the classroom as well as on the tennis court.