Concho Valley Athletes Take Aim at State Tennis Tournament

SAN ANGELO, TX — The Concho Valley is sending an incredible 28 entrants to the UIL Tennis State Tournament on Thursday.

Here’s a look at our area’s qualifiers in each classification:

Central Lady Cats Duo to Represent San Angelo in 6A

The girls doubles team of Hannah Hartin and Adithi Podaralla earned San Angelo Central its first state tennis qualifier in 11 years.

Hartin and Podaralla won a third-place playoff at the Region I-6A Meet in Arlington last month to punch their ticket to state.

The last time Central had a state entrant was in 2015 when Lacy Schneemann and Anna Schneemann reached the state semifinals.

Hartin and Podarella will play Natasha Rosseland and Isabella Young from Sugar Land Clements in Thursday’s opening round at the Northside Tennis Center in San Antonio.

Defending champ Taylor Leads Wall’s State Qualifiers in 3A

Wall’s Amelia Taylor, who won last year’s Class 3A girls singles championship as a freshman, is back to defend her title.

Taylor cruised to the Region I-3A title recently, beating Clyde's Gracie Caperton 6-1, 6-0 in the final.

Wall qualified both of its girls doubles teams as Ava Duncan and Evelyn Itz won the regional title, while Kymbree Hirt and Ella Bowman were third.

In mixed doubles, Wall’s Ainsley Jameson and Kristian Hurst earned a trip to state by beating teammates Kylee Holik and Lane Fisher for third place at regionals.

Wall will begin play Thursday at the Annemarie Tennis Center in San Antonio.

Mason Taking Aim at 5 State Titles in Class 2A

Mason, the tennis capital of Texas with a record 117 state titles, has a chance to sweep all five divisions.

Mason had a clean sweep at regionals with titles from:

• Russell Watson in boys singles

• Georgia Hicks in girls singles

• Keegan Ratliff and Cooper Ratliff in boys doubles

• Taylor Bierschwale and Kinley Wenzel in girls doubles

• Corbin Martinez and Heidi Smith in mixed doubles

In addition, Mason had the runners-up in boys doubles (Cade Dudney and Keltan Jordan), girls doubles (Chloe Swan and Sophie Ahlschwede) and mixed doubles (Jaxson Holbrook and Camille Schmidt).

Reagan County — often overlooked because of Mason’s dominance — is also home to one of the state’s better tennis programs, and the Owls have entrants in six events:

• Gunnar Stroud (regional champ) and Joaquin Vasquez in boys singles

• Aubrey Garcia in girls singles

• David Alonso and Rogelio Madero (regional champs) in boys doubles 

• Ashley Lopez and Jalaeda Perez in girls doubles

• Morgan Dodd and Juan Sanchez (regional champs) in mixed doubles

The other area players that will be competing in the 2A state tournament at the Blossom Tennis Center in San Antonio are Christoval’s Zoe Askins and San Saba’s Caitlin Mays in girls singles.

Olfen’s Halsell Chasing School’s First State Title at 1A Tournament

Olfen’s Grant Halsell made school history last year when he became its first-ever athlete to qualify for a UIL state event in any sport.

He then went on to bring home Olfen’s first medal after claiming bronze with a third-place finish.

Halsell is back this year after winning another regional title. He’ll play the winner of Grady’s Adrian Mata and Henrietta Midway’s Hadley Hand in the state quarterfinals at the Blossom Tennis Center in San Antonio.

Irion County has three entrants at this year’s meet — Baylee Rainey (a regional champ) and Bradie Garza in girls singles, and Presli Cormier and Isabella Garcia in girls doubles.

Menard’s Zeke Hernandez and Cado Bannowsky are back after last year’s third-place finish in boys doubles. They’ll head in as the regional champs.

Garden City’s Lacy Seidenberger and Presley Jost will represent their school in mixed doubles, while Richland Springs’ Layne Ward qualified in boys singles.

Twelve players qualified in each division. After two rounds Thursday, the semifinals and finals will be played Friday.