What happens when your mixed doubles partner that you’ve won two state championships with graduates? For Rockdale High School senior Devon Whitsel, it means getting a chance to play singles again after all these years.
Before teaming up with Reyna Gonzalez and dominating at every turn in the mixed doubles division, Whitsel was an accomplished singles player that rocked the scene as freshman, winning the 20-3A district championship without losing a set or a game at the 20-3A tourney.
At regionals, he placed fourth and Gonzalez placed third, just missing out on the state tournament where upperclassmen Erin Blanchard and Blake King won second straight silver medals.
This led to them teaming up and becoming the first RHS tennis duo to win back-to-back titles.
However, with two years of training for doubles, getting back into one-on-one tennis has been a huge change of pace for Whitsel.
“Working on tennis has definitely been different this year,” Whitsel said. “I’ve really been working on building up my endurance.
“In doubles, points usually only last five or six hits, but in singles it’s much more. But I’ve been hitting a lot with Tom and Anna Maldonado and my coach Marcus Reese over in Taylor, and they’ve been really helping me along the way.”
LAST WEEK– Whitsel and freshman Yolianna Castillo kicked off the 2020 tennis season this past Friday when they played in the Bastrop tournament.
The RHS senior
placed third
overall winning his
first match
8-2 and
shutting out
his second
round opponent from
Wimberley 8-0.
He lost his third round contest in a close 6-8 match with a player from Class 5A Bastrop.
He took home the third place trophy with an 8-1 victory in his final match of the day.
Castillo went 1-1 in her high school tennis debut, defeating a Caldwell Lady Hornet 9-7 before losing her second match 4-8 to a player from Bastrop.
COMING UP–The Rockdale tennis team doesn’t have a tournament scheduled for this weekend, but they get back into swinging on Friday, Feb. 7, in Georgetown.
The RHS tennis teams will host their own tournament at Veterans Memorial Park and RJH on Friday, Feb. 14.
“In doubles, points usually last five or six hits, but in singles, it’s much more.”
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