Cinco Ranch recently rallied for a victory against the Katy Taylor tennis team — and it wasn't just a meaningless regular-season match.
"That was a huge win for sure," Cinco coach Colin Harvey said.
It was huge for several reasons.
The Cougars trailed 9-3 before coming back to win 10-9, showing they have the resolve - and the talent - to pull out a clutch win. They did it despite their coach's own inner doubt about the possibility.
"At that point it didn't look likely that we could do it, needing to win a girls match, just because of the strength of their girls side," Harvey said.
Morgan Prejean made the unlikely comeback possible, pulling out a win over Taylor's Jenna Netland at Line 6 girls. Then all Cinco had to do was win all six boys singles matches to claim the win.
Yeah, that's all.
"We knew we were capable of doing that because we felt we were a little bit stronger all the way down on the boys side, but actually doing it is something else because there's going to be lots of close matches, and when you don't have much room for error that makes it tight," Harvey said.
They were a few close calls, namely Shrinag Gaddipati's narrow win at Line 5 boys, in which he fought off a match point after losing the first set. But in the end they took all six boys singles matches.
And it was Line 6 boy Mick Oyardo on the court in the end. His 6-3, 7-6 win over Eric Song provided the crucial 10th point - and a boost of self-confidence for a player who will be needed again.
"That was real big for later on because they've all now been through a really tough test and come through," Harvey said.
Every win over Taylor is big, simply because of its distinguished tennis history, but this one may have ensured Cinco has the best chance possible of making it to the district tournament final.
The Cougars were the first 19-5A team to face the other district powers: Taylor, Seven Lakes and Memorial. Memorial and Seven Lakes met last week and Seven Lakes and Taylor play Tuesday.
They were whipped by the Mustangs 18-1 but played the Spartans close in a 13-6 loss, and if the season plays out as expected, they'll now likely face the Spartans in the district semifinals Oct. 12.
And the one thing Harvey doesn't want to do is open against Memorial - the top-ranked Class 5A team in the state - which would all but guarantee they wouldn't have a shot at the regional tourney.
Only the top two district seeds get out.
The first time around against Memorial, Cinco's only win was at Line 1 girls, and the Mustangs have more than enough power on the boys side to nullify their biggest asset this season.
"Their boys are a step above pretty much everybody in the state, so when we have some close matches but don't pull any of them it snowballs," Harvey said.
(Article Found in Houston Chronicle)
