Hondo Anvil Herald

Two Hondo entries headed to state tennis

 

     Jourdanton -- Hondo sophomore Ava Lowe is heading to the UIL State Tennis Meet for the second consecutive year. She has now twice finished as Region IV-3A girls’ singles runner-up.

     She will be joined at state by girls’ doubles entry Nayeli Rivera/Sabrina Rodriguez, who finished third in the region tournament at Jourdanton High School, held last Wednesday and Thursday, May 7-8. Beginning this year, the top three finishers in each division at region are qualifying for state. All region champions will receive a first-round bye, with second and third place finishers at region playing first-round matches.

     The 3A and 4A state qualifiers will be competing in the state tournament Thursday and Friday, May 15-16, at the Northside ISD’s Annemarie Tennis Center, next to Gustafson Stadium, at Culebra and Loop 410. Play in 3A girls’ singles will begin at 8 a.m., with girls’ doubles starting at approximately 9:15.

     Lowe will face Brenna Pool of Peaster in the round of 16. With a win, she would face Madilynn Hamilton of McGregor in the quarterfinals. Hamilton defeated Lowe in a hard-fought 2024 state quarterfinal match.

     Rivera/Rodriguez will take on Heidi Siebert/Willow Siebert of Bowie in their first match, with Taylor Jacobs/Akeira Odem of Tatum awaiting the winner in the quarterfinals.

     At the region tourney, Lowe opened play Wednesday morning with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Savana Jackson of IDEA Weslaco. Later in the day, she defeated Emma Fling of Yoakum, 6-2, 6-2. Returning to the court on Thursday, Lowe recorded a 6-3, 6-1 semifinal win over Madison Williams of Goliad, to guarantee herself a spot in the state tourney. In the region championship, she lost to Kailey Albrecht of London, also the region champ last year, by a score of 6-1, 6-0. Williams earned the third-place berth at state, defeating Mia Cook of Jourdanton.

     Rivera/Rodriguez opened their run at region with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Marion’s Shadie Rabenaldt/Aryanna Totah. They followed that with a 6-1, 6-1 win over the Karnes City pair of Lauren Hohmeyer/LynnAnn Kosub. Thursday in the semis, Rivera/Rodriguez fell to the eventual region champs, Carly Peterson/Emma Glover of London, 6-2, 6-3. Playing for third later in the day, the Hondo juniors got a 6-2, 6-1 win over Lilley Spitzer/Rylee Freitag of Orange Grove, to secure a spot at state.

     In boys’ doubles competition at region, the Hondo team of Aaron Gonzalez/Edgar Gonzalez lost their opener to eventual regional silver medalists, Leon Guzman/Josiah Alvarado of Raymondville, 6-2, 6-3.

     Hondo’s mixed doubles entry of Cooper Pittman/Isabella Rodriguez fell in split sets to Jeffery Shreve/Kaitlynn Martinez of Hebbronville, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1. Shreve/Martinez advanced to the semifinals, but wound up losing in the third place match.

     Also from District 28-3A, Lytle’s Nathaniel Armendariz was the Region IV boys’ singles champion, and the Crystal City mixed doubles team of Abraham Martinez/Vianey Garcia also won the region.