DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

Harlingen South’s Jeremiah Gonzalez has made it a habit of qualifying for the UIL state tennis tournament.

The senior has been to state each of his four years at South but, unfortunately, had never won a match.

On Monday, however, Gonzalez made sure his last trip to the state tourney was his best trip as he won two matches to advance to today’s Class 6A boys’ singles championship final.

Rain delayed the start of play Monday. Gonzalez’s first match had been scheduled to begin at 8 a.m., but instead didn’t get underway until noon.

It didn’t matter, however, as Gonzalez soundly defeated Nick Ryniak of Southlake Carroll in the quarterfinals 6-1, 6-1.

In the semifinals against Jordan Pitts of Austin Lake Travis, Gonzalez came out on fire and cruised to a 6-0 first set win. However, Pitts recovered and won the second set 6-1 to even the match.

“I think he got a little overconfident heading into that second set,” said Harlingen South tennis coach Noe Stillman of Gonzalez. “He let up a little bit and the score showed that.”

But with a chance to head to his first-ever state title match, Gonzalez dug deep in the third set and closed things out with a hard-fought 6-2 victory.

Gonzalez will now face Arman Dave of Southlake Carroll in today’s finals, which are set to begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center and Omar Smith Instructional Tennis Courts at Texas A&M University. Dave defeated Roger Chou of Austin Westlake to advance.

“I think he’s got an excellent shot of winning,” said Stillman. “It’s going to be tough, but if he plays his game he can do it.”

The last Harlingen South player to advance to a state tennis final was Tomas Stillman, who did it in 2010. He came up short in a Class 5A boys’ singles match against Russell Bader of Austin Westlake, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (0).

DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — The official start of the 2016 high school football season is still several months away. However, the Harlingen Cardinals are already hard at work preparing for that day.

On Monday, under the watchful eye of coach Manny Gomez, the Cards began spring practice as they have for the past couple of years.

Gomez did not always allow the Red Birds to take advantage of spring ball since participating in it forces teams to begin practice a week later come August.

However, recently, Gomez has taken advantage of the opportunity to work out his squad before summer vacation begins.

Last season, the Cardinals finished at 10-3 overall and 6-1 in District 32-6A to clinch a share of the league title and advance to the playoffs where they went three rounds deep before losing a hard-fought game to Smithson Valley.

While the Cards will lose a few key players on defense this offseason, including end Charlie Moreno and tackle Travis Barnes, their offense should be in good hands with quarterback Jesse Castro and running back Leo Tienda set to return for their senior seasons.

Harlingen opens the 2016 season at home on Aug. 25 against Mission Veterans then hosts Laredo United South on Sept. 2 before hitting the road for a Week 3 game at San Antonio Regan.

While the Cardinals began spring ball Monday, across town at Harlingen South, the Hawks are set to take the field at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday with new head coach Brian Ricci at the helm.

Ricci, who was hired on March 8, was the offensive coordinator at Richmond George Ranch High School, which won the Class 5A Division I state championship last season.

Ricci replaced Lanny Wilson, who retired earlier this year after four years at South.

Last season, the Hawks were 3-6 overall, 3-4 in league play and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row.

Ricci will obviously look to change things in Hawks Country.

The Hawks will play Edinburg North, PSJA High and McAllen High in non-district action this season, and then host Bird Bowl XXIV vs. the Cardinals to open up district play in Week Five on Sept. 23.

Another new head coach who will open spring ball on Wednesday is Los Fresnos’ Patrick Brown, who was hired in February to replace Clint Finley, who left for greener pastures in Big Spring.

Brown spent the past few years as head coach at San Antonio Sam Houston High School, where the Hurricanes won the District 28-5A title and went 10-1 on the season.

The Falcons will hit the practice field at 4:45 p.m. each day beginning Wednesday and on May 27 will hold a Maroon vs. Gold game at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium.

Last season, the Falcons were 9-2 overall and clinched a share of the 32-6A title with a 6-1 record. Weslaco High defeated them 49-28 in the opening round of the playoffs.

DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

After a 9-5 upset against Zapata on April 8, the Port Isabel Tarpons knew their shot at winning the District 32-4A title was going to be tough, especially since the Hidalgo Pirates were red hot.

After dropping their season opener to Rio Hondo, the Bucs went on to win seven in a row by April 8, including an 8-5 win over the Tarpons on March 24, to improve to 7-1 in league play – a game ahead of PI, which had fallen to 6-2 after the Zapata loss.

But the gritty, never-take-no-for-an-answer Tarps shrugged off the setback and went on to win their last six games, including an 8-4 victory over Hidalgo on April 22 that put them in a two-way tie for the district lead.

On Friday night, the Tarpons closed out the regular season with an easy 11-1 win over La Feria to clinch a share of the 32-4A crown along with Hidalgo, which beat Grulla 9-3. This is Port Isabel’s first league championship since 2005 when they shared the title with Valley View.

“It’s been awhile (since we won district),” Port Isabel coach Robert Holland told the Brownsville Herald after Friday night’s win.

“It feels good, especially for the kids, they had a lot of pressure. But they put that on themselves, they knew they were good and we knew they were good. We’ve played good ball all year long. They work hard, I’m happy for them.”

More good news came on Saturday after the Tarpons won the coin flip with Hidaglo to become the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. As the top seed out of 32-4A, the Tarps will now face District 31-4A No. 4 seed Kingsville in the bi-district round later this week.

Coach Holland said the details for the opening-round series would be determined by Monday.

FALCONS’ PAIRING SET: The Los Fresnos Falcons, who finished as the No. 2 seed out of District 32-6A, will take on Weslaco High in their opening-round playoff series beginning Friday.

Game 1 of the best-of-three series is at 7 p.m. Friday at Los Fresnos. The series then shifts to Weslaco for games 2 and 3, if necessary. Game 2 gets underway at 1 p.m. and Game 3, if needed, will begin 30 minutes afterward.

CHANGE OF PLANS: The start of the San Benito Greyhounds vs. Edinburg High Bobcats bi-district series was moved back a day due to STAAR testing this week.

The series was originally scheduled to begin on Thursday at Edinburg. Now, however, things will get underway at 7 p.m. on Friday at San Benito.

The series then shifts to Edinburg on Saturday with Game 2 set for 11 a.m. and Game 3, if necessary, 30 minutes afterward.

DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

Harlingen High golfer Hannah Greer knows what it takes to compete at the state level.

After all, she qualifed for the UIL state golf tournament as a junior last year.

So when she returns to Legacy Hills Golf Club in Georgetown on Monday to begin another run at a state title, she’ll know exactly what to expect.

With that in mind, the rest of the field had best watch out because Hannah is ready to close out her high school golf career in style.

Last season, Hannah shot a two-day total of 158 to finish the tournament 14-over-par 144, which was only 17 strokes back of the eventual winner.

“But now that I know what to expect, I think I can do better,” she said on Saturday morning, a few hours before she and her family were set to hit the road for Georgetown.

“I’m really excited about this year’s tournament. Of course, I’m a little nervous, but I know the course and I think that will help ease my nerves. I hope to do well.”

Hannah, who is a Harlingen native but played varsity golf in Boerne as a freshman and sophomore before returning home as a junior, admits that no golf course here in the Valley compares to Legacy Hills, which in 1997 was chosen as one of the top 10 new courses by the Dallas Morning News.

“It’s a very challenging course that you have to take one shot at a time,” Hannah said. “Unlike courses here at home, it has more bunkers and you often can’t see the tee from the box, so it plays tougher than what I’m used to.”

To make things even more interesting, fellow District 32-6A competitor Julie Lucio of Brownsville Hanna will join Hannah come Monday.

Julie, who is just a sophomore, has been a fierce competitor of Hannah’s all season.

At the 32-6A tournament in Harlingen earlier this month, she edged out Hannah for the league title. And at the Region IV-6A tourney in San Antonio a couple of weeks ago, Julie came in second while Hannah had to settle for third.

“She’s a great competitor,” Hannah said of Julie. “I guess there is a bit of a competitive edge between us, especially because she’s a sophomore and I’m a senior. But I enjoy playing with her because I think we push each other.”

According to the UIL golf website, Hannah will tee off at 11:20 a.m. Monday in the same group as Trinity King of Arlington Martin, Mia Ayer of Waco Midway and Ariel Bao of Houston Bellaire. Julie does not tee off until 12:20 p.m.

Hannah, who said she began playing golf with her father when she was 6 years old and was competing in tournaments by the age of 7, admits that the key to her game is her strength off the tee.

“However, I sometimes struggle with my putting and chipping and that’s where you win and lose tournaments,” she said. “However, I’m just going to go out there, have fun and see what happens.”

Regardless of what happens on Monday and Tuesday, Hannah has already been accepted to Texas A&M University and will begin classes on July 6 with her eyes set on becoming a nurse or a physician assistant.

And golf, believe it or not, may not play a role in her future beyond the next few days unless she was to be accepted as a walk-on for the Aggies. But Hannah is not worried about walking away from golf.

“I will most likely play in the upcoming South Texas Junior Golf Classic in mid-July at Harlingen Country Club, but after that I’m ready to give it up,” she said. “I have had a lot of fun competing but I am ready to go to college and experience new things, but I’ll always have golf as something I can do for fun.

“I will miss the fun I’ve had with my dad when I was younger and he could be my caddy. I will also miss the times in high school golf and summer tournaments, but the highlight of this sport has been doing with it my dad. That’s what I will miss the most.”

By DAVE FAVILA

Staff Writer

Harlingen South’s Jeremiah Gonzalez defeated Jack Wang of McAllen High 7-6, 6-2 on Wednesday to capture his second consecutive boys’ singles Region IV-6A tennis title and return to the UIL state tournament for the fourth year in a row.

Gonzalez breezed through the competition at regionals, which was held Tuesday and Wednesday at McFarland Tennis Center in San Antonio.

In the regional finals, Gonzalez simply overwhelmed Wang with aggressive play.

“He played well and really committed to playing his game, and he served big,” said South head tennis coach Noe Stillman of his senior sensation. “If he plays aggressive tennis at state, he has as good of a chance as anyone.”

The UIL state tournament is set for May 16-17 at the Mitchell Tennis Center and Omar Smith Instructional Tennis Courts on the campus of Texas A&M University.

While this is Gonzalez’s fourth straight trip to state, this year marks his second consecutive trip as a singles qualifier.

At last year’s state competition, Gonzalez fell in the quarterfinals to Colin Markes of Round Rock in a tough 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 match. Markes lost in the next round to the eventual 2015 state champ Nathan Brown of El Paso Coronado.

In 2014, Gonzalez qualified as part of a mixed doubles team with Caitlyn Resendez. The duo also lost in the quarterfinals to a team from Lewisville Marcus that fell in the semifinals to that year’s state title winners.

Finally, as a freshman in 2013, Gonzalez made it to state as part of a doubles squad with Devin Kyral. The team fell in the quarterfinals to a team from Houston Memorial 6-2, 6-4.

By DAVE FAVILA

Staff Writer

Thanks to a 3-0 win over Brownsville Lopez and Harlingen High’s 3-0 loss to Brownsville Veterans, the San Benito Greyhounds on Tuesday clinched a playoff spot for the second year in a row.

This marks the first time in the baseball program’s history that the Greyhounds qualified for the postseason in consecutive seasons.

“It means a lot to go back to the playoffs two years in a row,” said Greyhounds head coach Ram Partida. “Hopefully, we can start a tradition here in San Benito. It was our goal all year to make the playoffs and our kids fought all year. Even when times were tough, they fought through it.”

With their win on Tuesday night, the ‘Hounds improved to 7-5 in District 32-6A play and, in the process, closed the playoff race for the rest of the league. This year’s 32-6A playoff-bound teams include San Benito, Brownsville Hanna (7-4), Los Fresnos (9-2) and Brownsville Veterans (11-1).

While San Benito and Veterans have two games left to play in the regular season, Los Fresnos and Hanna have three remaining because their regularly scheduled Tuesday matchups were postponed to Wednesday night due to the heavy rains the Valley received late Monday night.

PLAYOFF RACE ALMOST CLOSED: In District 32-4A, the postseason picture is almost fully developed.

With three games left to play in the regular season, the Hidalgo Pirates (10-1), Port Isabel Tarpons (9-2), Progreso Red Ants (7-4) and Grulla Gators (7-4) are in prime position to make the playoffs. However, the Rio Hondo Bobcats (4-7) and Zapata Hawks (4-7) are still mathematically in the hunt – but just barely. On Tuesday, both the Cats and Hawks lost their respective games. Rio Hondo fell to Raymondville 9-6 while Zapata dropped a 9-4 contest to Hidalgo. If the two teams hope to still make the playoffs, they’ll have to win all their remaining games and hope for a little help. Rio Hondo is at La Feria on Friday while Zapata hosts Pro-greso.

As far as the 32-4A title goes, Hidalgo is in the lead but the Pirates are at second-place Port Isabel on Friday in a huge contest.

DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — It’s not everyday that an individual gets to fulfill a longtime dream.

Harlingen High’s Gabriella Vargas, however, did just that on Monday morning.

Vargas, a 3-year varsity soccer player for the Lady Cardinals, signed her name to the dotted line that officially made her a future student-athlete at Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie.

SAGU competes in the Sooner Athletic Conference and is a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division I university. This past season, the women’s soccer team went 9-9 and finished 3-6 in SAC play.

Vargas first fell in love with SAGU when she was 10 years old because it’s where her parents both received their pastor licenses.

“I used to go up there when I was little and I just knew even back then that it was where I wanted to go to school when the time came,” she said. “Today was just a dream come true.”

And getting to play soccer while attending college only adds to the dream, Vargas said.

“I had never really thought about playing in college, especially since I had been hurt most of this past season,” she said. “However, when I went up there on a recent visit, I spoke to the coach and she encouraged me to go for it, and I did.

“I also met a lot of the girls on the team and they really made me feel at home.”

Vargas said she plans on studying psychology at SAGU and hopes to one day become a children’s counselor.

And while she is looking forward to her first day of college later this year, she is a bit anxious about the move even though she has family in the area.

“It will be different and I’m sure I’ll get a little homesick, and I’m going to miss the food down here the most,” she said. “But I’m excited and can’t wait.”

DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

Lyford’s Jacob Serna and Raymondville’s James Alfaro won’t be at school at the end of this month.

Both will be in Austin at the end of April to begin their pursuit of state golf titles.

Serna captured the Region IV-3A title at Quail Creek Country Club in San Marcos on Tuesday to qualify for a trip to the Class 3A state tournament at Grey Rock Golf Club in Austin on April 27-28.

Meanwhile, Alfaro earned a trip to the UIL Class 4A tournament by finishing in third place at the Region IV-4A championship at Lozano Golf Course in Corpus Christi also on Tuesday.

Alfaro, a junior, shot back-to-back 73s to finish the tournament in a four-way tie for first place at 146 before settling for third after a playoff.

“He was one of the most consistent golfers out there the past two days,” said Raymondville head coach Steve Cantu of Alfaro. “This is his first trip to state, but he’s been in the hunt ever since his freshman year.

“Last year, he came close but rain forced the second round of regionals to be cancelled and he missed his shot, but this year he finally did it. He’s just thrilled to be representing the Valley and District 32-4A at state.”

The Class 4A state meet is set for April 25-26 at Onion Creek Golf Club in Austin.

Meanwhile at the Class 6A level, there will be no trip to state for the Harlingen Cardinals boys’ team. However, Weslaco High’s McLean Beckwith will be going.

Heading into Tuesday’s final round of the Region IV-6A tournament in San Antonio, the Cards were tied for fourth place and in striking distance of finishing as one of the top three teams.

Unfortunately, Tuesday’s scores were not as low as Monday’s, and at the end of the day the Red Birds had to settle for an eighth-place finish and no shot at a trip to state.

“There was nothing fun about today,” said Cardinals head coach Chris Milligan. “We had an opportunity and just weren’t able to capitalize. It’s disappointing and painful.

“Ultimately, I was stoked with how we played Monday. For four of our five guys, it was their first regionals. We are a young team and have everyone coming back next year. We’ll be better for the experience; it’s just tough to swallow at the moment. It was a really positive season. Once we get over this, next season wont’ be able to get here fast enough.”

Dylan Martinez led the Cards with a 78 to finish the tournament with a 157. He was followed by Cole Charvat, who shot a 75 on Monday but an 84 on Tuesday to finish with a total of 159.

Nicholas Galvan also had problems on Tuesday. After shooting a 75 on Day 1, Galvan settled for an 89 to finish with a two-day score of 164.

The day also proved disappointing for Brownsville Hanna, which finished the tournament in seventh place despite entering round two tied for fourth along with Harlingen.

To make matters worse, Hanna sophomore sensation Santiago Garcia, who was in first place after shooting a first-round 69, struggled on Tuesday and narrowly missed out on a trip to the state tournament.

Garcia shot a 78 on Tuesday to finish the tourney tied for sixth with Weslaco High’s Beckwith, who shot a masterful 68 and then beat Garcia in a one-hole playoff to claim the third and final individual spot at state.

Beckwith will be joined by regional champion Christopher Kaney of San Antonio Warren and Cole Donielson of SA Churchill, who was the second individual state qualifier not on a top-three team.

The three teams from Region IV-6A headed to state are SA Johnson, SA Brandeis and New Braunfels.

There was actually a three-way tie for first place, but Johnson ended up as the regional champion after winning in a playoff and Brandeis came in second after a playoff win over New Braunfels.

The UIL Class 6A state tournament is set for April 25-26 at Legacy Hills Golf Course in Georgetown.

DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

The Harlingen Cardinals boys’ golf team put itself into position to qualify for the UIL state tournament after a solid first round at the Region IV-6A tourney on Monday at Republic Golf Course in San Antonio.

The Cards, who qualified for regionals after finishing second at the District 32-6A tournament a week ago, finished Monday tied for fourth place with Brownsville Hanna, which won the 32-6A tourney.

The Cards shot a team total of 308 and trail third-place New Braunfels by just three strokes. San Antonio Johnson was in first place with a 295 while SA Brandeis was in second with a 296.

Big Red was led by Nicholas Galvan and Cole Charvat, who both shot a 75 to finish the day tied for 14th place. Meanwhile, teammates Brandon Garza and Dylan Martinez both shot a 79, while John Ortega added a respectable 88 to the Cards’ total.

“We played really well and put ourselves in good position for tomorrow (today),” said Cards head coach Chris Milligan. “I’m very pleased with how comfortable our guys were. If we can keep that mindset (today), it should be a fun day to compete.”

But as good as the Cardinals preformed, Hanna will be a tough team to hold off, especially with sophomore Santiago Garcia leading the way. The District 32-6A gold medalist shot a 69 and is in first place heading into today’s final round. Meanwhile, teammate Alex Cortez carded a 73 and is tied for eighth place.

The top three teams and top three individuals not on a qualifying team, advance to the state meet, which, for Class 6A, will be held on April 25-26 at Legacy Hills Golf Course in Georgetown.

The Region IV-6A girls’ tournament, meanwhile, gets underway Wednesday with Harlingen High’s Hannah Greer and Harlingen South’s Amanda Alvarez looking to qualify for a trip to Georgetown.

Greer tees off on Wednesday at 9:52 a.m. on tee 10 alongside Rachel Yu of SA MacArthur and Laredo United’s Yu Ri Kim. Greer, a senior, is looking to qualify for her second consecutive trip to state.

Meanwhile, Alvarez tees off at 9:52 a.m. on tee 1 along with Allison Duffy of SA Churchill and Anissa Chaires of Laredo United. Alvarez, also a senior, last qualified for regionals as a sophomore and has not yet quailed for state.

DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer

HARLINGEN — Harlingen High’s Hannah Greer and Harlingen South’s Amanda Alvarez are headed to the Texas Hill Country next week after solid performances on Day 2 of the District 32-6A golf tournament on Tuesday at Tony Butler Golf Course.

With Brownsville Hanna and Brownsville Veterans coming in first and second, respectively, in the girls team standings, both Greer and Alvarez needed to finish as the top two individuals not on a qualifying team if they hoped to earn a trip the Region IV-6A tournament in San Antonio.

Greer, who came into Tuesday’s action tied for the individual lead with Brownville Hanna’s Julie Lucio, came up one stroke short of winning district gold as she posted a two-day total of 149 (70-79) while Lucio carded a 148 (70-78).

Regardless, Greer’s second-place finish was good enough to earn her a spot at regionals next Wednesday and Thursday.

“Today was a little worse than yesterday. I got out to a slow start and my putting kind of messed me up over time, but it’s OK. Overall, I had fun and that’s what matters,” said Greer, who is now headed to her second straight regional tournament. Last year, Greer finished third at regionals to qualify for the UIL state tournament.

Greer led Lucio early on, but Lucio battled back and eventually took a one-stroke lead on the back nine.

Lucio later went up by two strokes after she parred No. 16 and Greer bogeyed. However, Lucio bogeyed No. 17 and her lead dropped back to just one stroke heading into the final hole.

Lucio and Greer got off solid drives on No. 18 and found the green in two, but both would ultimately boggy the hole giving Lucio the one-stroke victory.

“There was definitely some tension between us, especially down the stretch,” said Lucio of her battle with Greer. “The pressure almost got to me, but thankfully I was able to hold her off. She’s so good. It was tough out there, but I’m happy to be going back to regionals for the second straight year.”

Meanwhile, while Greer and Lucio battled, South’s Alvarez very quietly got down to business and fired off a round of 77 to finish the tournament at 153. While she finished in fourth place overall, her score was solid enough to earn her a spot at regionals. This will be her second trip as she qualified two years ago as a sophomore.

“I think I did pretty well out here considering that the past couple of tournaments I hadn’t broken 80,” she said. “However, this is my home course and I felt a little more confident.”

The action wasn’t limited to the girls on Tuesday, as the boys’ team title came down to the wire with Hanna eventually holding off Harlingen High 611 to 615.

Led by sophomore Santiago Garcia, who also won the boys individual title with a two-day score of 138, the Eagles were simply too much of a force to be reckoned with.

“I’m happy with how I did,” said Garcia, who is headed to regionals for the second year in a row. “I wanted to break 70 each day and I shot 70 today, but that’s OK because I really didn’t expect to win by as much as I did, but everything just worked the past couple of days.

“I’m excited about going back to regionals, but especially because I’m going as part of a team. It’s better to go as a team.”

The Cardinals will also have their entire team in San Antonio next week as Cole Chavart (74-73—147) and Dylan Martinez (72-79—150) led the way for the second-place Red Birds.

Despite qualifying for regionals, Cards head coach Chris Milligan was a little disappointed.

“Ultimately, second place stings as it should when you had intentions of winning,” he said. “We just came up a few shots short. Hanna played really well at the right time.

“We have a great group and I’m proud of the way my guys battled and played as a unit, rallying behind one another. I feel we’re headed to San Antonio with just a little resolve. It’s a challenging course with some talented teams, but I think our guys are ready to show out. We’re excited for the challenge and the opportunity to measure up against the best in the region.”

Also qualifying for regionals was Kevin Gomez and Ricardo Lopez of Brownsville Veterans. Lopez fired a 72 on Tuesday to storm into a third-place finish behind Harlingen’s Chavart with a two-day total of 150. Gomez, meanwhile, shot a 78 to finish with a two-day total of 157.

The Region IV-6A tournament will be held at Republic Golf Course in San Antonio. The boys’ tourney gets underway April 11-12 followed by the girls on April 13-14.