BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
The Sharyland High Rattlers have enjoyed their share of tennis success in recent years, which made the 2017 season somewhat strange for the programs. The Rattlers sent at least one doubles team to the state tournament in 2015 and 2016, but no participants earned a spot at state last season.
However, the duo of Michael Davis and Andrea Fernandez won four of its five matches at this week’s Region IV meet in San Antonio to clinch a spot in the 2018 UIL Class 5A state tennis tournament. The meet will begin May 17 at the George P. Mitchell and Omar Smith Intramural tennis centers on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station.
“This doesn’t happen for us often,” Sharyland High boys tennis coach Mike Salinas said. “I know we have recently, because we’ve had some kids that have played really strong. You have to have players in order to go that far.”
Davis, a junior, and Fernandez, a freshman, traversed through teams from Austin High in the first round, San Antonio Brackenridge in the second round and Dripping Springs in the third round before losing in the regional title match to Ethan Evans and Nikki Boyar of Boerne Champion.
“They rolled through the first two rounds without any hiccups,” Salinas said. “They started slow in the third round, but they eventually found their groove. The (Boerne) Champion team won regionals last year, and they’re very seasoned.”
While Boerne Champion owned the first berth to the state meet, another spot was up for grabs in the second-place match that pitted Davis and Fernandez against Oliver Johnson and Rebecca Jackson of Austin High. Davis and Fernandez defeated Johnson and Jackson to punch their ticket to College Station.
“Michael goes 100 percent every point,” Salinas said. “He never stops moving. He’s high-energy, but he’s also very creative out on the court. It’s like you could wind him up before a match and watch him go until the very end. He never stops hustling.
“He’s done a better job of managing his emotions and not getting too down on himself during a match. You have to ride out the ups and downs in a game like tennis. He’s done that.”
For Fernandez, the stakes have continued to grow with every match, and her play has risen with them. That trait is not often found in players as young as she is.
“She’s learned how to deal with pressure from a team standpoint really well,” Sharyland High girls tennis coach Jerry Martinez said. “She had been playing the game for a long time as an individual player at a fairly high level. This is her first season playing doubles. She’s had to manage herself on the court with 10 teammates counting on her to win her match. That’s the biggest improvement area I’ve seen from her this season.”
Davis and Fernandez will be one of eight mixed doubles team vying for the right to be the last team standing next month.
“The errors they saw at districts or regionals aren’t going to be there at state,” Martinez said. “The Boerne Champion duo that beat us this year lost in the first round of state last year. We’ll have to take advantage of any opportunities when we get them.”