The varsity tennis team, ranked number four in the state, narrowly missed their the opportunity to compete in the UIL 6A State Championship with a second place finish at Regionals on Saturday, Oct. 29. After securing a district and area title, Warriors went up against the top ranked school in the state, Memorial High School, ultimately ending their chance to advance.

The team has had one of their strongest seasons so far, with a 17-3 record. These three losses were against the top three teams in the state. With this second place finish, the Warriors are the closest they have been to the state level since 1999.

“The bond of our teammates definitely got stronger as we traveled to regionals,” Flora He ‘19 said. “We all felt the win and the losses together as one.”

For their first round at Regionals, the team went up against J. J. Pearce, and dominated with a clean sweep score of 10-0. However, the second round was much closer when the Warriors defeated the Woodlands 10-9. In the final round, the Warriors faced the Memorial Mustangs, and ultimately lost with a score of 3-10, although the rest of the matches on the courts were all won by Warriors.

“It was a fun match for all the kids and we had a great trip,” head coach Travis Dalrymple said. “We have the individual season coming up starting in January, and I think the kids are gonna build off of all our success and use it to motivate themselves and work even harder and get to state in individuals.”