It’s a young rivalry but an intense one between the Boerne Champion and Boerne High tennis programs.
The Chargers hosted the Greyhounds Tuesday for their annual district clash, and as expected, the match was intense as both were looking to not only claim bragging rights, but also to solidify playoff spots.
After seven doubles matches, Boerne was up 4-3 and then ran away with it from there once it went to singles.
The Greyhounds claim this year’s 26-5A match over the Chargers, 13-6. BHS clinched it at 10-6 but the three matches on the courts were allowed to finish out as the final score indicates.
With Boerne leading 9-6, there were still four matches out on the courts, but the Chargers had their backs against the wall and needed to win all four, while the Greyhounds only needed one victory to be the first to 10. The clincher came from Shae Gonzales at No. 6 boys singles. The Hounds won all three remaining matches as well.
Boerne improves to 9-1 overall and 5-0 in district. They host Alamo Heights Tuesday at the Greyhound courts, and the winner has the inside track to this year’s district title.
BHS coach Tyson Stewart said his team played well against their crosstown rivals.
“We felt like we played a great match against a very tough team,” he said. “It was a great team win.”
Stewart said he’s looking forward to their match with the Mules.
“It will be a good test for us against Heights; they’re a very solid team,” he said. “It’s a great position for us to be in playing for first place, but we have a lot of tennis yet to be played and need to finish strong.”
Champion slips to 5-5 overall and 2-2 in district. The Chargers visited Pieper Friday and are at New Braunfels Tuesday.
Champion head coach Joey Cantu tipped his hat to the Hounds and hopes to meet them again in the playoffs. It could happen in the third round of the playoffs, just like it did last year.
“I think it was a good match, they won the key points and credit to them, they played well,” said Cantu, whose team won their district match with Boerne last year before falling to them in the playoffs. “I’m never going to look past the first round because the Austin schools are good but if we can get past the first round, we’ll be seeing (BHS) in the third round.”
NOTES: The team tennis series between Boerne and Champion is now 2-2. With Tuesday’s win, the Greyhounds have beat the Chargers twice in a row to claim their two victories. Champion beat the Hounds in a tourney and then took their district match last year to take the first two wins in the series. ... Both teams won their district matches on the others home court. ... Because one of the eight courts at Champion was unusable, they had to play all 19 matches on the seven available courts, so the match that started at 4 p.m. didn’t end until about 9 p.m.
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