BY SAÚL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — When the tennis ball soars into the air, Sharyland High’s Sebastian Arizola and Emilia Ramos will be calm, confident and poised.
That is how the two seniors have played all year as a mixed doubles team, and that is how they will play in the Class 5A quarterfinals of the UIL State tournament today at 12:30 p.m. at Texas A&M University in College Station. They will face Grapevine’s team of Kali Hamilton and Calum Robe.
Ramos and Arizola have developed a confidence in each other that allows them to fearlessly attack each match. Their Region IV win over Vandegrift’s Roy King and Danielle Cuteri was filled with tough tiebreakers and close points, but they believed in each other. Even after dropping the first set, they stayed confident and won the last two to advance to state.
The pairing has been a perfect fit from the
beginning of the season. Arizola was one member of the Rattlers’ state-qualifying boys doubles team last year with Carlos Ramones, who graduated last year.
“He has a lot of touch,” coach Yvette Vela said of Arizola. “He’s got a really good game. Because he has experience already being at the state level, I think he knows what is needed.”
Meanwhile, last season was Ramos’ first at Sharyland after transferring from Mexico to pursue her dream of playing tennis in college.
“She was a really strong player to begin with,” Vela said. “She’s got an all-around good game. She’s got the volley, she’s got the overhands. She’s got a really good serve and she is really consistent.”
Ramos has achieved her goal of playing college tennis. She will play in Mexico once her high school career is over. However, she knows this opportunity to play in the state tournament could open more doors.
Arizola and Ramos have games that complement each other’s nicely.
“She plays her part and I play my part,” Arizola said. “She’s very good in the back, and I consider myself pretty good at the net, so we make a good team.”
Ramos and Arizola have become close over the past two years. They built trust, which translates to on-court success. They move in rhythm, they know where each other will be and they know who can get to each shot, which is a crucial element in doubles play.
“We always have fun on the court,” Ramos said. “I think that the most important thing, because we are playing not just to win and achieve goals, is to build a new friendship and to have fun.”
The fearless attitude they have comes from the fun they have on the court, and from their enjoyment of a “Fearless” musician.
“Sometimes in practice, we sing.” Ramos said. “When we have a bad point, we just sing ‘Shake It Off,’ the Taylor Swift song. We just say ‘shake it off,’ to forget about the bad point.”