SAN ANTONIO – After playing each other in district, both Boerne ISD tennis coaches knew there was a chance they were going to meet in the playoffs.
That rematch happened Tuesday at the NS tennis courts in S.A. and this time the outcome was reversed.
The Chargers won their district match in September, 10-8, but the Greyhounds turned the tables on Champion in Tuesday’s third-round playoff match and went on to claim the 10-5 victory.
BHS advanced to the fourth round where they faced Mission Sharyland in the regional semifinals and were defeated, 10-5. (See separate article.)
In their first meeting, the Chargers were up 4-3 after doubles, but on Tuesday, the Greyhounds were leading 5-2 after doubles.
Greyhounds coach Tyson Stewart said he knew if they could flip a few matches from their first meeting in doubles, that would put them in a good spot heading into singles.
“We played crazy good, the difference between 4-3 and 5-2 is a huge difference, just mentally,” he said. “I felt like if we played doubles well and did what we’ve been practicing that we would have a shot to be up. We gutted out some matches that we were out of, we didn’t have any business winning and stayed in and put one more ball in play. We had more today than we did the last time.”
Champion was up in the third set in two different doubles matches but the Greyhounds were able to take the matches to help them get five of the seven wins in doubles.
Chargers coach Joey Cantu said it was a case of missed opportunities. If they win those two matches, they would have been ahead 4-3 going into singles.
“We had opportunities and had match points in each of those super tiebreakers and they just played better,” he said. “It was one of those things – give credit to them, they played better and were the better team today.”
While BHS was up 5-2 after doubles, the Chargers didn’t go down without a fight. They won the first three singles matches off the court and tied it at 5-5.
“Credit to Champion,” Stewart said. “Being up 5-2, we had chances to put it away but they fought like crazy. It was a tough-fought match, it was way closer than 10-5. Champion played their tails off.”
After Champion tied it at 5-5, the Hounds closed it out by winning the next five matches to seal the victory.
Cantu said he admired the fight his team showed.
“I was proud of them not hanging their heads,” he said. “We were in a fight after doubles. We gave ourselves an opportunity and we missed them. That’s how tennis goes.”
The Chargers finish the year at 12-6 and graduate five seniors from this year’s team. They are Charles Henderson, Luke Sladky, Greta Clauss, Serena Sharma and Layla Faradijan.
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