The climb to the top of a sport is hard, but staying there for three consecutive years shows the commitment and resilience of a team. The Alexander Bulldogs captured their third consecutive team tennis title and were crowned the District 30-6A champions on Wednesday after dominating northside rival United 15-4.
"All this year, we have played great," Alexander head coach Eddie Cuellar said. "We kind of had some rainouts and didn't play some matches that we wanted to. I think today we have played the best that we have ever played, and that is hard, especially in this district which is pretty tough. United South was really strong, and so was Eagle Pass, but I'm really proud of the kids of the way that they played pretty much all year. This topped it off for the year by the way they played this match."
The Bulldogs' experience was a key factor, as the majority of the team returned from last year’s district championship team.
"We had a lot of kids who came back; we lost very few from last year," Cuellar said. "That helps with the experience. We knew this year was going to be tough, and they really stepped up their game. Singles, doubles, mixed doubles, just everybody played really well. I am really proud of the entire team."
In team tennis, every win is a point, and they play boys' and girls' singles, boys' and girls' doubles, and mixed doubles as Alexander battled United at the Dog Pound.
The Lady Bulldogs dominated girls’ singles 5-1, and in boys' singles, Alexander went 4-2. It went on to sweep boys’ and girls’ doubles 6-0. United won mixed doubles.
The boys were led by seniors Kaiyuan Nan, Alfredo Ramirez, Ian Jaimes and Azariah Guerra, along with Heriberto Martinez. The Bulldogs also had the services of Sebastian Salinas, Mauricio Montoya, Marcelo Mora and Mauricio Casellas.
Alexander has a strong underclassmen class that consists of sophomores Alejandro Garza, Mauro Tiburcio, Ferran Nacher and Santiago Sandoval along with a pair of freshmen, Rodrigo Montes De Oca and Pablo Vasquez.
The Lady Bulldogs were paced by junior Pamela Ramos, who is a dominant force on the court. The senior class that went undefeated in district play includes Kristen Rodriguez, Hanna Eljure, Meghan Leyendecker and Tamara Marina.
Ramos, Paloma Vasquez, Alizee Houben, Sofia Tietzsch, Sofia Rangel and Andrea Santos led the junior class for the Lady Bulldogs. The underclassmen consisted of sophomores Sophia Garcia, Marion Sotello, Kate Amador and Briana Ramos along with freshmen Ava Rodriguez and Arantza Nacher.
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