DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
Edinburg Vela made history and Sharyland High persevered at the Region IV-5A tennis tournament Wednesday at Blossom Athletic Center in San Antonio.
SaberCats senior Andre Mercado won his true second boys singles match against Seguin’s Kevin Clack to earn a trip to the state tournament May 12-13 in College Station.
The top two seeds in each category advance to state. Mercado is the first Edinburg Vela tennis player to advance to state.
“My serve was pretty good,” Mercado said. “I was just more focused. I knew what was at stake, so I was playing to win. I went point by point and played well.”
Last year, Mercado lost in the regional semifinals. His sophomore year, he played a true second match and lost in three sets.
“I knew that the next time I had a chance to play for state, I wasn’t going to let it go,” Mercado said. “I was more prepared this time, more focused. I learned from my sophomore year and I didn’t want that to happen again.”
Vela coach Monica Gonzalez said Mercado talked about that true second match every year. It’s why, she said, he is mentally tougher.
“He played outstanding today,” Gonzalez said. “Everything was on. Mentally, he was in the game. I couldn’t be more proud. He’s set the bar extremely high for this program.”
Mercado will be joined at state by Sharyland High’s boys doubles team of senior Carlos Ramones and junior Sebastian Arizola.
The pair beat Dripping Springs’ Sam Brodsky and Andy Varnell in the semifinals before falling to Flour Bluff’s Noah Ortiz and Jeff Orchard in the final.
“That wasn’t our best match, but we tried hard,” Arizola said of the final. “We wanted to win pretty badly, but we just couldn’t get it.”
A big reason behind the duo’s success was a tweak defensively. Instead of playing back, Ramones and Arizola played closer to the net.
“Our communication, putting away points … all that was big,” Ramones said. “But the biggest thing was we put more pressure on our opponents, cut off angles. That was huge.”
Added Arizola: “Instead of having to work harder for points, we would pin the ball and get the point quicker. We’d been practicing that all season, and it worked for us.”
The duo lost in the regional quarterfinals last year. This year’s experience, Ramones said, will be big for getting prepared for state.
“We’ll start conditioning and preparation,” he said. “The talent we saw at regionals, these guys have heavy ground strokes and were all over the net. We need to be prepared for that.”
Arizola and Ramones are the first Rattlers boys doubles team to qualify for state since 2007.
“You can have all the strokes, but how well can you handle the pressure? One unforced error can be the difference,” Sharyland High boys coach Mike Salinas said. “They felt that pressure today, the competition was tough, and they pulled through. They’re going to state.”