By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
For the third time in four weeks the Metro-area will play host to a tennis tournament.
This time, the Los Fresnos Falcons will play host to the 13-team tournament that will be competed at three different venues and begin at 8 a.m. today and Saturday.
The host school will play, along with Hanna, Porter, Rivera, Pace, Port Isabel, Mercedes, La Feria, Weslaco High, Harlingen High, Raymondville, Rio Hondo and Port Aransas.
Los Fresnos will play host to the girls doubles A and B events and mixed doubles A event. The homecourt advantage could prove beneficial to the mixed doubles A team of Larissa Lopez and Paul Garrate, who won the previous two tournaments at Pace and Hanna.
“We have a couple of good chances (to win),” Los Fresnos coach Bill Sandlin said. “A mixed doubles won a couple first places and I’m hoping girls singles will do well. I hope A boys doubles does well, too, and James Maestro is seeded in the B boys singles.”
The remainder of the matches will be played at Hanna and the Brownsville Tennis Center. Hanna will be host to the girls singles A and B events and boys singles A event. The tennis center will play host to boys doubles A and B, mixed doubles B and boys singles B events.
As far as the tournament layout, it will resemble the tournament at Hanna that was played Feb. 6 and 7.
“We’re going to try to set it up similar to the Hanna tournament,” Los Fresnos coach Bill Sandlin said. “Each player should get three or four guaranteed matches depending on byes.”
Early-round tournament matches will be played today, and the championship matches will be held Saturday.
Hanna finished in second place as a team at its own tournament two weeks ago and is the highest finishing team to also compete at Los Fresnos.
The Falcons’ mixed doubles B team of Miguel Cortez and Kayla Hernandez, who took first place at the Hanna Invitational, also will look to repeat their success.
Other teams present at today’s tournament that will be looking to match their results from the most recent Metro-area tournament will be the Raiders, who had Julissa Rostro win the girls singles A event, and the Cardinals, whose boys doubles A team of David Gracia and Travis Walther and doubles B team of Nick Byrum and Justin MacManes placed first at the Hanna tournament.
This tournament and the La Feria tournament to be played March 20 and 21 will be the final two tournaments for the Falcons before the District 32-6A tournament April 8 and 9, which they will also hold.
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.