5A
regional tournament
HELOTES – The Boerne High and Boerne Champion tennis teams have had their share of victories in their rivalry against each other, but lately the pendulum has swung in favor of the Greyhounds.
BHS and CHS have met five times in their history, with the Chargers taking the first two matches, but the Greyhounds have won the last three, including Tuesday’s third-round playoff match at the Northside Tennis Center.
Boerne High defeated the Chargers, 10-7, and advanced to the regional tournament where they opened Thursday against Mission Sharyland and won 10-7.
The Greyhounds played Flour Bluff Friday in the Region IV-5A finals at Blossom with a trip to the state tournament on the line.
Included in Boerne’s three straight wins over the Chargers is two playoff victories, last year and this year, both in the third round. The Greyhounds also won this year’s district match for a 3-2 series lead all time.
BHS coach Tyson Stewart gave the Chargers credit for playing a strong match against them.
“They’re gritty and we knew it would be tough to the end,” he said. “Going up 4-3 in doubles gives you such a boost, it feels like everything else is in reach.”
After seven doubles matches – three boys, three girls and mixed – the Hounds were leading 4-3 as Stewart said, but three of those matches went to the third set and Boerne won two of them.
Chargers coach Joey Cantu said if they could have picked up another win or two in doubles, it might have changed the outcome.
“We had many chances to go up in doubles, in a perfect scenario if we win at girls No. 1 (doubles), we’re up 4-3 and if we pull out the mixed (doubles), we’re up 5-2,” he said.
Instead, BHS won at No. 1 girls doubles, and the Hounds also won the mixed doubles, and both those matches went to the third set.
“Our No. 1 girls doubles winning was huge because we lost that match the last time (in district to Champion),” Stewart said.
BHS’s Lauren Weisel and Tatum Welch took the No. 1 girls doubles match and the mixed doubles team of Shae Gonzales and Paytin Johndrow won in the third set, while Champion’s Matthew Caldwell and Harper Wagner won at No. 3 boys doubles in three sets.
Trailing 4-3, Champion picked up its other four wins in girls singles, No. 1-4.
“Our girls won at 1-2-3-4 and they were giving us a chance,” Cantu said. “I was proud of how they played.”
The Greyhounds picked up a win by Lauren Weisel at No. 5 girls singles and then won five of six boys matches to get to 10.
Boerne was up 9-7 with three matches on the court, but it ended when Nick Dube claimed a three-set win at No. 5 boys singles.
“Nick was down and came back ... that was big,” Stewart said. “But it was a full team effort, whenever somebody dropped, somebody else stepped up.”
To maximize their chances, Cantu shuffled his line up around a bit, trying to give his team the best chance to win. It didn’t work out like he hoped but in the end, he gave credit to the Greyhounds for playing a solid match.
“I even took out my daughter (in girls singles), which is a tough coaching move for a dad, but it was about match ups, and I felt like we matched up better with the lineup I had out there,” he said. “Give credit to Boerne though, they played better, I give it to them.”
Boerne was 17-2 after Thursday’s win, while the Chargers ended their year with a record of 13-7.
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