Tennis

Dragons Tennis Shines in First Tourney After Long Delay

By Zach Warner
The Southlake Journal

So far this season, the Carroll tennis teams' toughest doubles opponents have been Old Man Winter and Mother Nature.

Up until last week, that unfriendly duo had been winning all the battles. The Dragons were unable to hit the court for competition due to weather conditions, as a couple of varsity tournaments, and some JV events as well, were canceled.

That trend finally changed when Carroll was able to get some matches in at the Grapevine Tournament, which took place March 5-6. The Dragons' eagerness to compete showed as the tennis team ran away with the overall team title.

"We had either been rained out, snowed out or 'colded out,'" said Carroll coach Norm Smith, whose team was unable to compete at the Richland Duals on Jan. 26 or the Wichita Falls Tournament on Feb. 12-13. "It's been a very frustrating spring.

"The Dragons tennis team was more than ready to play a tournament, and they made the most of it."

Competing against 16 teams from across the state, Carroll netted 72 points to finish first as a team, followed by A&M Consolidated in a distant second (42 points).

Two doubles teams - Austin McCasin and Brittaney McCasin in the 'A' mixed doubles draw, and Lauren Rutherford and Meredith Hope in the 'B' girls doubles draw - took tournament titles, while boys No. 1 singles player Mason Eberhart also won his division.

Carroll's No. 1 boys doubles (Thomas Woessner and Michael Tran), girls No. 1 singles (Melissa Tran) and No. 2 boys singles (John Wooldridge) all finished runners-up in their divisions. The team's No. 2 mixed doubles finished third, while the No. 2 girls singles and No. 2 boys doubles teams took fourth.

After the long wait, the Carroll tennis team was encouraged by the results of its first tournament this spring season, Smith said.

"We were very consistent," he said. "That's how you win tournaments in the spring."

Now the Dragons will attempt to play catch-up leading up to the 6-5A district tournament, just four weeks away. Carroll expects to face some heavy hitters over that span, competing in two scheduled varsity tournaments and picking up another one as well.

The Dragons compete in the JJ Pearce tournament today, facing elite state powers such as Highland Park and Plano West, as well as solid regional programs in McKinney Boyd, Allen and Pearce.

"Those teams alone make it the toughest tournament in the state right there," Smith said. "That'll be a really good test."

More solid competition from the southern part of the state will be on hand when Carroll travels to the A&M Consolidated Tournament, scheduled for March 26-27. Top teams from San Antonio and Corpus Christi should give the Dragons a different set of challenges than what they're used to locally.

The Dragons originally planned to send its JV and lower varsity players to the Mansfield Tournament on April 1, but will likely send the entire varsity in order to get more matches under their belt.

"Going to good tournaments is really going to be the key to [being ready for district]," Smith said. "I think they're looking forward to going down there. We definitely need more matches.

"We used to say that district is a long way away, and that's just not the case anymore. ... Even though we lost the tournaments, we still have a chance to pick up some good tournaments toward the end."

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