By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
District 32-6A fall team tennis competition is about to begin.
Hanna and Rivera open 32-6A action against each other next Tuesday after school at the Hanna courts. The other six teams in 32-6A begin district dual match play the same day.
The Rivera Raiders have a combination of experience and youth on their roster this time around.
“We’ve got three seniors coming back plus a bunch of young underclassmen who are eager to do well,” Rivera coach Danny Espinoza said. “They want to improve and they’ve been getting better through our scrimmages, so every day it’s fun watching them progress.
“It’s look and see (what we can do) in team tennis this year,” Espinoza added. “Hopefully there’s a gold or silver lining in there for us.”
Seniors Robert de la Fuente and Jennifer Pesina figure to lead the way for the Raiders. De la Fuente finished third in 32-6A last spring and is currently recovering from an ankle injury. Pesina has gone 5-1 in scrimmage action so far in recent weeks and is set to be the No. 1 girls player for Rivera after serving as the No. 2 and 3 player last school year.
Another senior who could make some noise is Miguel Martinez, who might play in the No. 1 or 2 spot for the Rivera boys.
“He’s improving for his limited experience (at this point),” Espinoza said of Martinez.
A promising newcomer for Rivera is sophomore Elvia Zamora, who is projected to play at No. 2 for the Lady Raiders. Another sophomore showing potential is Karen Palomino.
Meanwhile, Hanna is a traditionally strong opponent in fall and spring tennis and the Golden Eagles are expected to be a solid force again.
Veteran coach Terry Hoover is beginning his 42nd school year at the helm of the Hanna tennis program.
“We have a bunch of hard workers, they don’t mind practicing and they get after it,” Hoover said. “We’re improving every day.
“I think we’re going to be up there fighting for one of the playoff spots (again),” Hoover added. “We’ve been working hard and playing some really good teams (in scrimmages), so we’re looking forward to district competition. We’ve done pretty well so far.”
The Hanna girls have three fairly solid players in junior Paulina de Leon, senior Jessica Sosa and junior Kaylee Garzoria. Garzoria finished third in district last spring and de Leon was fourth. De Leon is projected to play at the No. 1 spot.
For the Hanna boys, the top players include seniors Alan Garcia, Raul Caballero and Servando Robles. Garcia figures to play at the No. 1 spot for the Hanna boys.
Besides Hanna and Rivera, other schools in 32-6A this time around are Los Fresnos, San Benito, Harlingen High, Harlingen South, Weslaco High and Weslaco East. The Weslaco schools are new to 32-6A after the UIL realignment that was announced earlier this year.
“I don’t know if you could say we’re lucky or unlucky that we’ve got Harlingen South and Harlingen High in our district,” Hoover said. “They’re both very quality teams. Actually, everyone in our district has improved and there are no pieces of cake (for an easy victory) anymore. You have to go out and play hard (to win).”
DISTRICT 32-5A
The fall team tennis competition in 32-5A will include Brownsville schools Pace, Porter, Lopez and Veterans Memorial along with Donna North, Mercedes and Edcouch-Elsa. Donna High is not listed by the UIL as competing in 32-5A for fall team tennis. District dual match play in 32-5A also is scheduled to begin during the coming week. The teams will be playing Tuesday-Saturday dual match schedules, just like in 32-6A.
Ana Rodriguez, beginning her fourth year as Pace’s coach, said her three top players back are Kris Martinez, Daniel Ramos and Daniela Sosa.
Pace starts district next Tuesday at Mercedes.
“We have eight seniors and the rest are ‘newbies,’” Rodriguez said. “They’re showing that they have a lot of hustle and they’re trying.”
OTHERS
Port Isabel will be coached this school year by Maria Jimenez Ramon. St. Joseph Academy and IDEA Frontier are not playing fall team tennis, the athletic directors at those two schools said.