COLLEGE STATION – The Boerne High tennis team ended the year right where it started – as the No. 2 ranked 4A team in the state.
When the 2022-23 school year opened a few months ago, the Greyhound stringers entered as the No. 2 ranked squad in the state, and on Thursday, BHS finished as the second best 4A team in Texas.
Boerne High came everso- close to winning its first ever gold medal in team tennis when the Hounds took on Canyon Randall in College Station for the 4A championship, but the Raiders held off a late BHS rally to take the title, 10-8.
Speaking of 2s, Boerne head coach Tyson Stewart had never taken a team past the 2nd round of the playoffs and in his first year with the Greyhounds, he led BHS to the No. 2 spot in the state.
Afterwards, Stewart praised his team and gave the Raiders credit for playing a tough match.
“I’m proud of our kids for fighting back, we were down but we never gave up,” he said. “(Canyon Randall) stuck it out, their backs were against the wall, and they had to perform, and they did it. Good for them; I hate it for our kids but what a season.” On Wednesday, Boerne won its semifinals match against Little River Academy, 11-3, while Canyon Randall beat Lindale, 11-1, to set up Thursday’s championship tilt.
After doubles on Thursday, the Raiders were up 4-3 after the Raiders won three girls doubles matches and one boys doubles match, while the Greyhounds took two of three boys doubles matches and the mixed doubles match.
Once it went into singles, Randall won four of the next five matches and pulled ahead, 8-4, but the Hounds started to rally.
BHS took three of the next four matches and it was 9-7 with three matches on the court. The Hounds added another win in boys singles and had narrowed the gap to 9-8 with two matches left.
The Raiders needed just one more win and the Hounds had to take both matches and Canyon Randall picked up the one victory they needed in a thirdset tiebreaker to secure the title.
Seniors on this year’s Boerne team include Erin Durham, Kendall Freeman, Jess Gonzales, Sam Gonzales, Lindsay Hope, Chloe O’Connor, Serena Ross and Ian Siemens.
Stewart thanked the seniors and the rest of the team for a great and memorable season.
“This is the biggest day of my career, I never made it past the second round, so to come here to the state tournament in the first year, it’s a big deal,” he said. “It’s hard to be upset, obviously we wanted to win, it’s a big deal to get here. There are hundreds of teams that wish they were here and there was one match left in the state and we were in it.”
Boerne finishes the year at 20-3 overall and was making its third appearance at the state tournament. In 2016 they won bronze and in 2020 they earned silver to match the silver medals they won this season for their best finish ever.
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