Rockdale varsity tennis players went all of Friday without losing a match on their home court when Lady Tiger Yolianna Castillo won the girls’ singles division and two-time state qualifier Devon Whitsel breezed through the competition in the boys singles division to end the day as champion.
Castillo began the day with an 8-2 win over Piper Swisher of Lexington before battling Jana Miller of Class 5A Cedar Creek to win a close 8-6 match.
To win the tournament, Castillo played in another head-to-head match with Cameron’s Victoria Pimental, who she beat 6-4, 7-5.
For Whitsel, he spent the first three rounds dominating beating Cedar Creek’s Ivan Perez and Jordan McGough both 8-2 before Jarrell’s Luke Payne 8-3 in the semi-final round.
In the finals, he took down Cameron’s Braden Brashear, a 2019 regional qualifier, 6-0, 6-2 for the boys’ singles crown.
RHS head tennis coach Kristy Kaufmann was very positive about how both Castillo and Whitsel played.
“They did great,” she said. “We also had Lexington and Cameron at the tournament so we had a great preview to see who we’ll go up against when district comes around.
THIS WEEK–Rock-dale’s tennis team competes next on Friday at the Westwood High School tourney in Round Rock.
RHS has two months before the District 19-3A tournament in Franklin on Monday, April 13.
RHS Tennis Tournament
Friday, Feb. 14
Boys Singles
First Round
Kincaid Callahan (Cameron) def. Ryan Navarro (Giddings) 8-0; Steven Jurk (Jarrell) def. Jordan Bishop (Cedar Creek) 8-3; Ricardo Rodriguez (Giddings) def. Luke Payne (Jarrell) 8-0; Devon Whitsel (Rockdale) def. Ivan Perez (Cedar Creek) 8-2; Jordan McGough (Cedar Creek) def. Caden Huckabay (Lexington 8-5.
Second Round
Robertson def. Callahan 8-6; Braden Brashear (Cameron) def. Jurk 8-5; Payne def. John Bastir (Lexington) 8-0; Whitsel def. McGough 8-2.
Third Round
Brashear def. Robertson 8-4; Whitsel def. Payne 8-3.
Final Round
Whitsel def. Brashear 6-0, 6-2.
Consolation
Perez def. Rodriguez 8-1; Bastir def. Navarro 8-0; Bishop def. Huckabay 9-7.
Second Round
Perez def. Bastir 8-0; Bishop bye.
Final
Payne def. Robertson forfeit
Girls Singles
Play-in Round
Victoria Romero (Jarrell) def. Trinity McGough (Cedar Creek) 8-4; Victoria Pimental (Cameron) def. Kym Le (Caldwell) 8-4
First Round
Morgan Hart (Giddings) def. McGough 8-6; Pimental def. Chloe Grimm (Thorndale) 8-2; Yolianna Castillo (Rockdale) def. Piper Swisher (Lexington) 8-2; Jana Miller (Cedar Creek) def. Delanie Matechik (Giddings) 8-1.
Second Round
Pimental def. McGough 8-4; Castillo def. Miller 8-6.
Final Round
Castillo def. Pimental 6-4, 7-5.
Consolation
Romero def. Le 8-0; Swisher def. Matechik 8-3; Grimm (Thorndale) def. Hart 8-1.
Second Round
Romero def. Swisher 8-0; Grimm bye.
Final Round
Romero def. Grimm 8-0.
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