DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
McAllen Memorial will once again be a power in the Rio Grande Valley tennis scene this season. How much of a power could be determined this weekend when the Mustangs compete in the prestigious Battle of the Bay tournament in Corpus Christi.
The Mustangs are coming off boys and girls team district championships and return a lot of that firepower, beginning with junior Jack Wang, senior Daniel Magadan, senior Valeria Garza and promising freshman Alan Magadan.
“We have a real good chance to get back to regionals,” coach Rhodora Elizondo said. “Right now we’re just getting ready, getting time and experience and we have one of the strongest tournaments in Texas coming up.”
The Battle of the Bay features state powers from Houston, Austin and south Texas. Elizondo said it is a good measuring stick for the type of talent the Mustangs will see at regionals.
Roma is the only other Valley team participating in the tournament.
McAllen Memorial was the lone upper or Mid-Valley representative, including individuals, last season to advance to the Class 6A regional semifinals, but it fell short there.
Elizondo is confident she has an improved team from last year. Garza, a district champion the last three years, stopped playing soccer this year to focus on tennis. Wang, a regional semifinalist in singles in 2014 and doubles in 2015, is the leader of the pack, and Daniel Magadan is close behind.
Daniel’s brother Alan may be even better than Wang or Daniel. Alan is stronger and taller and simply needs experience, Elizondo said.
Elizondo had a strong doubles team last year, with Wang and then-senior Alvaro Rocha, and said she plans to have the Magadan brothers play doubles later this season.
“He’s a good player, but the maturity is not there yet,” Elizondo said of Alan. “But you can see he’s going to be very good. He just needs some refinement in his game, and at 14 years old he doesn’t have the experience.”
LACKEY’S NOT LACKING
Weslaco High senior Austin Lackey finished second at the Sharyland ISD Invitational last weekend. Lackey shot an 81-70 for a two-day score of 151 to finish behind Harlingen High’s Cole Charvat.
“He’s matured a lot and his game has improved,” Weslaco High boys golf coach Chris Gracia said. “His drives are incredibly long now, and what he’s been working on is mostly his short game. We’re trying to get him to focus on two solid rounds.”
Lackey, who comes from a long legacy of Lackey family members that starred athletically for the Panthers, saw that last weekend when he shot an 81 on day one before finishing strong. A consistent effort could have afforded him the tournament championship.
Gracia said Lackey has put in a lot of work on his putting during the offseason.
“It’s about having more feel,” Gracia said. “He’s been sometimes jabbing at the ball, so he’s worked on changing grips.”
Lackey is the leader of a Panthers team that Gracia said is among the best in his 13 years as coach.
Sophomore Quinlan Vos finished 11th at last weekend’s tournament and sophomore Bradley McCaleb finished 18th. McLean Beckwith, the Panthers’ other senior, finished 27th in the 123-man field.
MIXING AND MATCHING
Roma tennis coach Eddie Marquez knew he had talent coming into this season. His job would be putting that talent in the best position to succeed.
Marquez has seemingly accomplished that with his girls doubles team of seniors Karina Baez and Alejandra Canedo and his mixed doubles team of Raul Ramirez and Stacey Martinez.
Baez and Canedo won the McAllen Memorial tournament earlier this season and finished second in the Laredo Invitational.
“They all have experience,” Marquez said. “They have great volleys and they have real good chemistry. I put them together and it’s worked out.”
Ramirez and Martinez won the Laredo Invitational.
“I know I had the players, it’s just a matter of putting them together and seeing how we do,” Marquez said.
Roma is strong on the girls side. Juniors Chantal Lozano and Monica Cantu have had strong starts to the season. Cantu has won two singles tournaments.
“This is perhaps the best girls team I’ve had, and I’ve had some good ones,” said Marquez, Roma’s coach since 1999.