BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Michael Davis and Andrea Fernandez have known each other for several years, but neither thought their paths would cross on the tennis court. Davis, a junior, was exclusively a singles player while training with the RGV Elite Tennis Academy before seeking outside help with an independent tennis instructor. Fernandez, a former RGV Elite Tennis Academy participant herself, found a personal tennis coach, as well.
“After a while, if you really want to be a better player, you need private lessons with a private coach,” Fernandez said.
Little did Davis and Fernandez know, they were both being privately instructed by David Cross, a former tennis head coach with Pan American University and later the University of Texas-Pan American.
“I was already with coach Cross, because he was helping me out with getting better at singles,” Davis said. “When my coaches told me they were going to pair me with Andy (Andrea) for doubles, that’s when she told me she was training under him. He suggested that he could train us together and since October, we have.”
The idea to turn Davis and Fernandez into a mixed doubles team was a stroke of genius by Sharyland High tennis coaches Michael Salinas and Jerry Martinez. The duo of Davis and Fernandez captured the District 31-5A title in early April. They then fought through adversity at the regional tournament to earn a spot at the UIL state tennis tournament, which begins this afternoon in College Station.
“During the week, we’ve been making sure Mike is covering a lot more of the court,” Salinas said. “Opponents are going to be looking for the weaker player, so we wanted him to do his thing and freestyle around the net more to put points away.”
“I’ve been so used to playing by myself that I needed the extra work outside of school to get accustomed to doubles,” Davis said. “I played in mixed doubles leagues to get used to playing with someone like Andrea.”
Davis and Fernandez are appearing in their first state tournament. Fernandez is doing so as a freshman.
“She understands her strengths well and her demeanor on the court is definitely a big plus, too,” Martinez said. “She knows she’s not the fastest player out there, but she’s very intelligent as far as her shot selection goes. Her hands help her hit difficult, unexpected angles well, which definitely comes in handy in doubles.”
Fernandez had a moment of clarity shortly before the deciding match for the No. 2 state qualifying spot at the regional tennis tournament in San Antonio.
“I was thinking about how cool it would be if we were able to pass on to state in my first year of high school,” Fernandez said. “Even if we lost, it was still a pretty good year for me. We won the first set (against Austin High) 6-1, but then the other team really gave us a fight. It was like, ‘Who wants it more?’ We had to kick it up notch, and we won the second set 7-6.”
Davis and Fernandez are the first Sharyland High mixed doubles team to qualify for state since 2016, when Sebastian Arizola and Emilia Ramos won the state title over a team from Texarkana.
“When we get there, there’s going to be a moment of awe and excitement, because it’s going to be a new experience for us,” Davis said. “It’s going to be scary, too, because you’ll get filled with nerves, and you know you’ll need to play well.”
“I know Sebastian and Emilia well, and I’ve seen how well they played,” Fernandez said. “We have a chance to win, but it depends on the other teams. We have to see how they play and how hard it’s going to be. I don’t think we’re going to go there to lose.”