NATHANIEL MATA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
On an overcast Tuesday morning in Mission, the stars were out at Sharyland High School, as all the No. 1 seeds won championships in their respective brackets of the District 31-5A tennis championships.
Joaquin Delgado asserted himself on his way to his second singles district championship. He also won his second team title, as Pioneer was crowned the boys team champion.
The Pioneer senior said his day wasn’t perfect, but it was a stepping stone toward his goal of a state championship. He defeated Sharyland High’s Michael Davis 6-1, 6-0 in the final.
“There’s going to be days where you’re not going to play your best tennis,” Delgado said. “Like today, I started off nervous, but I found a way to win comfortably. That’s going to be how it is at state. I’m going to have to find a way to win no matter how I play. I honestly love the pressure. I feel with more pressure, I work harder. I’ve been working harder than ever this season. I know I’m ready for state. Hopefully, I can qualify and go from there.”
The Roma Gladiators also had a strong day, especially in doubles.
Chantal Lozano and Monika Cantu made quick work in the final for girls doubles. Last season, they finished first and second in the district singles competition. This year, coach Eddie Marquez wanted to see them on the court as a team.
The Roma team won 6-1, 6-1 over their opponents from Sharyland High.
“It’s a different experience, because we’re a team, and last time we were competing against each other,” Lozano said. “Now, we were brought together in order to become a better team, and we came out on top.”
Boys doubles was an all-Roma final. Veterans Joel Flores and Roel Loera defeated their teammates Marc Siller and Raul Ramirez.
The winning duo has been playing together for three years.
“Honestly, going into it, I didn’t expect such a good outcome,” Flores said, referring to facing his own school in the final. “The competition is always great. And in tennis, anything can happen.”
Mission Veterans’ Kate De Los Santos earned a district title in her senior season. She took control of her singles match against Sharyland High’s Eugenia Gomez 6-4, 6-0.
“It’s been a long four years. I worked hard all four years,” De Los Santos said, adding that her biggest hurdle was in her head. “Definitely mental. Mentally, you have to be strong out there. I do struggle with that, just like any tennis player, but it’s how you come back from that and how you gather yourself.”
De Los Santos’s coach, Maria Palacios, praised her senior.
“She knows how to hone in that frustration and that anger that she sometimes may experience during a match and refocus it on those crucial points,” Palacios said. “That’s what makes her a true champion.”
The most hard-fought championship match came in mixed doubles. Sharyland High’s Leo Armendariz and Carolina Falcon outlasted Pioneer’s duo of Stevan Guarneri and Anne Rara, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Armendariz and Falcon only started playing together this year, but the positive results have come quickly.
“We won the first set, then the second set they kind of dominated,” Falcon said. “The third we came back with everything. … It feels good to close a hard match. It felt great that my parents and friends are here and that we’re on home court. To pull out the home win was great, especially against Pioneer.”
Advancing tennis players will prepare for the Class 5A Region IV tournament at San Antonio’s Blossom Athletic Center next week. The first round will take place April 18, and the championship round is the next day.