Friday, May. 02, 2008
Tennis season ends for Keller
By BRYCE NIEMAN
The girls doubles pair of Kaitlyn Blakey and Adriana Parent and boys duo of Matt Donaldson and Jeremy Knipp both won their first-round matches at the Class 5A Region I championships before running into higher seeded teams.
Meanwhile, Emmi Mallow – Keller’s only other regional qualifier – dropped her opening round match in three sets at Texas Tech’s McLeod Tennis Center in Lubbock.
Blakey and Paret had the most dominant first round of the Keller players, defeating Michelle Dela Rosa and Chris La of Cedar Hill 6-1, 6-1.
"They came out very strong and very much dictated play," Keller coach Dave Vinsant said.
In the second round, Blakey and Paret had to face top-seeded Madison Hudson and Emma Morris from Abilene.
Despite the lower ranking, Vinsant said his team felt it had a chance of advancing. The pairs had played against each other in a practice match earlier in the week, with the Abilene team coming out on top by a slim 8-6 margin.
Blakey and Paret won the first game and were up 40-love in the second, but ended up dropping it.
"We had a few games like that, that were sort of opportunities where we just didn’t quite get it done," Vinsant said.
Hudson and Morris went on to win the match in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.
Though both teams played some really great points, Vinsant said, Blakey and Paret had a few unforced errors that kept them from keeping the match closer.
Vinsant said the seniors competed hard in the final match of their careers at Keller.
"They had a great season and I’m very proud of them," Vinsant said. "They’re two captains on our team, and they’re going to be missed because of their leadership and the way they can compete.
Paret will attend TCU next year while Blakey will play tennis at Queens University in Charlotte, N.C., Vinsant said.
Hudson and Morris finished the tournament in second place to earn a bid to next week’s 5A championships.
On the boys side of last weekend’s tournament, Donaldson and Knipp led off with a hard-fought 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory over Patrick Haines and Ben Gendron of Flower Mound.
The Keller duo then had to go up against fourth-seeded Scott Motl and Chris Solley of San Angelo Central.
Donaldson and Knipp struggled to break serve, Vinsant said, as Motl-Solley won the first set 6-3, and then eked out the second set at 7-5.
"They played well in both sets, but just came up a little bit short in both of them," Vinsant said.
Even with the loss, the coach said making it as far as the duo did was a great accomplishment, as the pair has gotten steadily stronger over the course of the season.
Unlike the pair of Blake and Paret, however, Keller should get Donaldson and Knipp – a sophomore and junior respectively – back next season.
"If they can continue to improve at the rate they did this year, they’re going to have another opportunity to get back (to regionals," Vinsant said.
Mallow had a strong start to her regional appearance in the girls singles bracket with a 6-2 victory over Duncanville’s Stefanie Pierce in the first set. However, Pierce rebounded to win the next two sets by the same score.
"She came out strong, and all her shots were going in for that first set," Vinsant said. "She just wasn’t able to keep that up this time."
Vinsant said a windy West Texas day may have played a factor in Mallow’s struggle in the last two sets. The junior has a flatter delivery, the coach said, which is not only high-risk, but also more susceptible to the wind.
"She fought," Vinsant said. "In the end, it was just too many unforced errors with that flatter ball."
The coach said he expects Mallow to compete for a spot at regionals again next season.
Keller loses Blakey and Paret, as well as talented players in Lora Choi, Rebecca Denny and Hunter Clinton.
However, Vinsant said, he has a good nucleus of players returning and a group that is becoming more and more involved in U.S. Tennis Association events. That on-court experience outside of high school competition is vital to his players’ growth.
"Getting better involvement in USTA is really important to the program," Vinsant said.
Grapevine and Colleyville Heritage will still be in the reformatted District 5-5A next school year, but Keller will not have to battle with players from Southlake Carroll. Trinity, Bell and Fossil Ridge – who advanced players to the 4A regionals this year – will be added to the district.
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