Concho Valley Tennis Players Bring Home 7 State Titles

SAN ANTONIO, TX — The Concho Valley’s impact at the UIL Tennis State Championships was felt Friday with area schools winning seven state titles.

Two girls from Tom Green County — Wall’s Amelia Taylor and Christoval’s Zoe Askins — are each returning home with gold medals.

Taylor, a sophomore at Wall, defended her title in Class 3A girls singles with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Honda’s Ava Lowe.

Taylor dropped only seven games in three matches at the state tournament.

Askins, a senior at Christoval, won her first state title with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Mason’s Georgia Hicks in the 2A girls singles final.

It was the fourth state appearance for Askins, who had finished in third place in her three previous trips.

Mason reached the state final in all five divisions Friday and won four of them.

Russell Watson defeated Reagan County’s Gunnar Stroud 6-1, 6-1 in the boys singles final, while it was an all-Mason final in the other three divisions.

The Cowgirls duo of Taylor Bierschwale and Kinley Wenzel defeated teammates Chloe Swan and Sophie Ahlschwede in girls doubles. 

In boys doubles, Keltan Jordan and Cade Dudney defeated teammates Keegan Ratliff and Cooper Ratliff 6-3, 6-0.

And in mixed doubles, Corbin Martinez and Heidi Smith outlasted Jaxson Holbrook and Camille Schmidt 6-0, 4-6, 6-1.

The other state title returning to the Concho Valley came from Garden City’s Presley Jost and Lacy Seidenberger, who defeated Knippa’s Madison Speer and Cameron Santos 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.

Jost and Seidenberger fell into a 4-0 deficit in their opening set of the day against Utopia’s Hallie Moore and Max Feller in the semifinals before rallying for a 7-5, 6-1 victory.

Other area highlights included Wall’s two girls doubles teams each reaching the state semifinals. However, Bowie’s Heidi Siebert and Willow Siebert knocked out both Lady Hawks teams.

Wall’s Ava Duncan and Evelyn Itz lost in the state final 6-3, 6-3, while Kymbree Hirt and Ella Bowman fell in the semifinals 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (2). 

In Class 1A, Olfen’s Grant Halsell finished in third place in boys singles, and Irion County’s Baylee Rainey was third in girls singles.