On a very wet and rainy Sunday night, the Jesuit tennis team arrived at Baylor University in Waco tennis with all six players who managed to qualify from the district event just less than two weeks prior. Facing some of the most serious competition the team had ever seen, the road to victory would be a long and arduous one that most of the team would not make it out of.
As Monday rolled around, and the outdoor facilities were basically small ponds, the regional team managers swiftly called for all matches to be played indoors. With only six courts, the tournament would advance at a snail’s pace due to the large amount of matches ahead. Luckily, boys singles was up first and John Lindberg ’18 and Pierre Craig ’16 got onto the courts around 8:30 (thankfully the other boys were allowed to sleep in until 9:30 because their matches didn’t start til 12). Nonetheless, Jesuit’s cheering section was filled with loud roars from supporting parents and friends as the first matches went onto court. Craig managed to easily fly past the first round, only dropping two games in the process. However, on the other court, Lindberg ’18, faced serious competition from the eventual semi finalist of the entire tournament, losing in the third set 6-2. With already one player out of the tournament, the team truly began to realize how hard it was going to be to secure a spot at state. Senior Campbell Frost stated, “Even though I feel our team is the best it has ever been, winning in Regionals will be really challenging”. This statement continued to ring true throughout the first round of doubles as well because senior-junior team of Matthew Salazar ’16 and Ethan Kissee ’17 played against the fourth seeded players in the tournament and eventually lost in a close two sets. However, the best team Jesuit had, senior Campbell Frost and junior Hayden Kissee, was still waiting to play, and was seeded first in the tournament, showing that despite stiff competition, the tournament odds were in their favor. Luckily, the team managed to breeze past the first round without too much trouble and got to quickly travel back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation before the second round could start.
At around 1:30, Pierre Craig was back up to play once more, facing off against the fourth seed in the tournament, Jordan Pitts. Although Craig fought hard, Pitts, a topped ranked Texas player, eventually won the match 6-4, 6-4, advancing all the way to the finals before taking second. With all of Jesuit’s players now out of the tournament, besides Campbell and Hayden, it looked like the rest of the tournament would be no walk in the park. And, as day turned into night, Kissee and Frost took the court around six to play their second and final match on Monday. By upping their own gameplay, both players easily ousted the opponents for a win that placed them in the semi-finals tomorrow against the fourth seeded team in the region.
After waking up early the next morning to play at 8, Kissee and Frost began to warm up before starting their hardest match yet, playing against a team that actually ended their winning streak last year and knocked them out of the vie for state. However, with an improved skilset and talents, the powerful Jesuit team managed to come out on top, winning in straight sets and advancing to the finals. In the finals, playing against a powerful Westwood team, Kissee and Frost knew they would have to play their best in order to succeed. Before the finals match started, Coach Civello commented how “This final team would be very difficult to take down due to their increased chemistry on the court and impressive net skills”. This assessment would prove to be incredibly accurate as the Westwood team initially dominated net play and forced Campbell and Hayden to rethink strategies in order to pull out a victory. In the end, after much fighting and determination, the team pulled through and won in straight sets in order to claim first at regionals, advancing to state at the end of May where eight other doubles champions and runner ups will compete for the ultimate high school tennis title.
