In its toughest test yet, No. 2 Wylie team tennis pulls through

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The Wylie tennis team Monday found itself in an unusual situation, down after doubles play.

Aledo came out firing, especially on the girls side, to take a 4-3 lead after the seven doubles matches. The Class 5A No. 2 Bulldogs (18-0 overall, 2-0 district) swept the three boys lines, but were swept in the three girls matches and dropped the mixed doubles match.

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“They came ready to play,” Wylie coach Mark Hathorn said. “They jumped on us in doubles right away … we had not been down 4-3 after doubles yet. We’ve been up 4-3 and most of the time up 5-2, 6-1 or 7-0. So, it was really a gut-check.”

In the team’s meeting after the doubles matches and before singles play started, Hathorn resisted the urge to get after his team. Instead, he encouraged his veteran team to pick up things and turn the match around.

“That’s not a time to really chew them out,” Hathorn said. “Because they know that they did not play well and we knew we had to get after it in singles.”

And get after it they did.

Williford leads rally

Lane Adkins and Analeah Elias won their respective No. 1 matches while Cole Edwards and Carson Cole picked up wins at No. 3 and No. 4 boys to put Wylie in front 7-4. No. 16 Aledo’s girls got the Bearcats right back in the match winning at No. 2, 3 and 4 to tie things at 7-all.

Then came Davyn Williford. The Wylie’s No. 2 boy fell in the first set, but came marching back.

“He’s been out with his back some and we’ve kind of nursed him through a little bit,” Hathorn said. “I’m glad we’ve had a lull in the schedule a little bit and some rain. But I can’t speak highly enough about Davyn and how he’s done that the last few matches, struggled the first set, loses it at the end. He’s one that always comes through … he had a match point against him.

I’m proud of him. He’s really stepped up as a senior.”

Williford dropped his first set 6-4, but came back to win the second 6-3 and force a third. Down 9-8 and facing match point, Williford won three straight points to win the third-set tiebreaker 11-9 and put Wylie up 8-7 in the match.

“Coming back from the back injury, I was a little bit rusty,” Williford said. “But it’s good to have those tough matches where you just have to grind and do everything you can. I think our coaches did a great job to get me back and get me prepared. They really helped me through that match, helped me stay positive, helped me stay focused … that really boosted our confidence as a team, too.”

From there, Anthony Zhang won at No. 6 singles before Courtney Holmes put away the match with a win at No. 5. Holmes, who partnered with Williford for the 2017 boys doubles state title, put the pressure aside, along with an early 2-1 deficit, to take the match 6-3, 6-1.

“(Holmes has) won a lot, but he’s been one that has had some close matches and has struggled a bit,” Hathorn said. “For him to come through and win the 10th (Monday), being down 2-1 in the first and getting a strategy that we needed to (win). I’m really proud of him on the execution.”

Hailey Parker and Mandy Roberson would go on to win their No. 5 and 6 girls matches for the 12-7 final.

Relying on experience

There were nerves and the Bulldogs were put to the test, possibly for the first time since the team’s last loss to Amarillo Tascosa last season. After that loss last year, Wylie never fell in more than three lines — and had 10 shutout wins — losing just 1 line in its three district and five playoff matches last year.

“This team has won enough that, when it gets tight, I can depend on them,” Hathorn said. “We’ve got to continue to do that. I’d rather it not be that close though.”

Just gets harder

Monday was the start to a busy week, due to weather. Wylie plays at Cooper on Thursday and then host Wichita Falls High on Saturday to wrap up district play. The Cougars are coming off a big win of their own Monday, getting their first District 4-5A win.

“(Cooper coach) Trance (Rosenquist) will have them ready, there’s no doubt,” Hathorn said. “They play great doubles, he’ll have them ready to go. It doesn’t matter, it’s always going to be close … I know it will be great tennis, fun to watch and fun to coach.”

With tough district tests against Wichita Falls Rider and Aledo behind them, don’t expect the Bulldogs to take one-win Cooper and winless Wichita Falls High lightly.

“I think it just motivates us more,” Williford said. “This is what we’ve always wanted, even in 4A, we’ve wanted this competition in district and throughout playoffs. I think we’re really excited that in district we’re getting pushed and that just makes us better and better. I think this match was a wakeup call … I think it was good for us to get that wakeup call and realize that it’s going to be competitive the rest of the year.”

Following this week’s district matches, Wylie will face Class 4A No. 1 Fredericksburg and Class 6A Odessa Permian before starting its first 5A postseason. This is the time for the Bulldogs to step up and finish strong.

“We’ve had a little bit of some easy matches, many of them (the outcomes) are really never in question,” Hathorn said. “I think it’s good to get tested. It’s a little bit of a gut-check. Sometimes you can get a little bit complacent in what you’re trying to do … being No. 2 in the state doesn’t mean anything if you don’t even win your district.

“We knew (Aledo’s) girls team was very strong. We survived and we have two (more) good matches this week. Hopefully we play better and keep getting better.”

DISTRICT 4-5A

Wylie def. Aledo 12-7

BOYS SINGLES — Lane Adkins, Wylie, def. Lance McClure 6-3, 6-0; Davyn Williford, Wylie, def. Miles Grubbs 4-6, 6-3, 11-9; Cole Edwards, Wylie, def. James Young 6-1, 6-3; Carson Cole, Wylie, def. Kade Robinson 7-5, 6-1; Courtney Holmes, Wylie, def. Payton Neely 6-3, 6-1; Anthony Zhang, Wylie, def. John Llewellyn 6-0, 6-1.

BOYS DOUBLES — Adkins/Williford, Wylie, def. McClure/Grubbs 6-4, 6-2; Edwards/Aric Richardson, Wylie, def. Caburn/Robinson 6-1, 6-1; Cole/Reid Huerman, Wylie, def. Neely/Llewllyn 6-0, 6-1.

GIRLS SINGLES — Analeah Elias, Wylie, def. Pricilla Schimming 6-1, 6-1; Olivia Key, Aledo, def. Elle Schroeder 6-1, 6-1; Erin Davis, Aledo, def. Madison Andrews 6-2, 6-3; Carly Siddons, Aledo, def. Leighton Alford 6-4, 6-4; Hailey Parker, Wylie, def. Katie Siddons 6-4, 6-1; Mandy Roberson, Wyie def. Concetta Ogden 6-4, 6-3.

GIRLS DOUBLES — Schimming/Davis, Aledo, def. Elias/Alford 6-4, 6-1; Key/Ogden, Aledo, def. Schroeder/Andrews 6-2, 6-4; Dale/C. Siddons, Aledo, def. Parker/Rebecca Yates 6-2, 6-3.

MIXED DOUBLES — Young/K. Siddons, Aledo, def. Zhang/Roberson 6-2, 6-2.

RECORDS — Wylie 18-0, 2-0; Aledo 2-1 in district.