As per tradition, the Jesuit Tennis team took on Houston’s Strake Jesuit on Friday, October 17th to conclude the fall season, winning decidedly by a score of 11-7.
Rebounding off of a tough loss to Allen in their previous match, Jesuit started off with a bang, dominating the singles rounds in which they only conceded four losses and nearly clinching the match, a mere two wins away from achieving the 18-match duel. Next were the doubles rounds, where Jesuit won three more matches to take the overall competition with 11 match wins. Doubles partners Campbell Frost ’16 and Thomas Carrier ’15 easily handled their Strake opponents in two sets, 6-1, 6-3, putting Jesuit Dallas one step closer to victory. Sheer determination allowed duo Pierre Craig ’15 and Clark Shannon ’17 to overcome an early deficit and win the second doubles tilt in a tiebreaker that followed three sets to officially seal the match. Matthew Salazar 16′ and Jackson White 15′, who made his season debut during the match, also cruised through their doubles match, manhandling the opposing Strake duo 6-1 in both sets.
When asked what gave his team the edge against Strake, head coach Paul McDaniel attributed the victory to the team’s depth. “We have a very deep team. Whenever we play Strake… you kinda have to throw the records out because they want to beat us and we want to beat them. You have to have depth… and you have to keep your emotions in check.”
Glad to end the season on a good note, Salazar described his contentment with the team’s ability to maintain focus and pull off a well-deserved victory, saying, “I feel our team ended the season well with a perfect record in district play off of a win against our rivals Strake Jesuit.” Carrier shared the same sentiment, applauding the team’s resilience by expressing, “I feel like we had a great end to the fall season against Strake. Especially after the tough loss and lack of focus against Allen, we really bounced back and fought hard to take down our brothers from Houston.”
With his hard-earned doubles victory, Pierre Craig ’15 ended the fall season undefeated in all of his combined singles and doubles matches. “I was pleased with my consistent play throughout the season. I train hard during the school year, and it’s rewarding to see my hard work pay off by being undefeated,” said Craig, proud of this rare and praiseworthy accomplishment. McDaniel emphasized Craig’s valuable performance this fall, calling it “impressive.”
The victory over Strake put the final touches on a season that featured a perfect record against district opponents this fall, a noteworthy feat (even though according to McDaniel it’s “not any big deal”) that is overshadowed by the two lone blemishes left by losses to Allen and Highland Park. The fall season allows the team to assess their competition, to discover its strengths and weaknesses and attempt to capitalize and improve upon them. By dominating their district opponents and playing powerhouses Allen and Highland Park close, the Rangers realized their great potential for the upcoming spring season.
This year’s freshmen have played a major role, more than in years past, in contributing to the team’s fall success. “We have a lot of skill and talent on the team this year, but I think I’m most proud of the freshmen. They may not have as much experience as other players, but they fight and practice harder than any group of freshmen I’ve seen in my four years on this team,” said Carrier, commending their positive attitudes in their first year of playing Jesuit tennis. He continued, “I’m excited to help lead this great team in my last season as a Ranger, and see even more development in our younger players.”
The team’s prosperity does not stop here. Every Jesuit tennis player shares the same lofty expectation of the spring campaign: to advance further into regional competition than last year. Drawing off of the team’s ample ability displayed this fall, Salazar confided, “I hope during the spring season we can bring all six people to the regional tournament like we did last year and make it farther in regionals.” McDaniel elaborated on this mindset, explaining, “Our district… is really competitive. We just want to be in the conversation…”
Despite the relative ease with which they cruised through the fall, described by Carrier as “never too difficult for us,” there is certainly room for improvement. “A factor that the whole team has to improve on is not taking any match for granted and not accepting defeat until the match is completely over,” something that came back to the bite Jesuit in their two losses to tough competition. Another area for improvement was increasing attendance at morning practices, said Carrier.
Look for the program to focus on developing these qualities in addition to enhancing preexisting strengths in an attempt to continue their torrential winning efforts in the spring season.
