AUSTIN – Highland Park headed a long list of area tennis players who advanced Monday to Tuesday's state championship matches, with Charlotte Calhoun moving into the Class 4A girls singles final and two teams set to face off in the girls doubles final.
Calhoun advanced with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 quarterfinal win over Rachel Baldree of Corpus Christi Flour Bluff and a 6-1, 6-3 decision over Miranda D'Acosta of Wichita Falls Rider in the semifinals.
"The first match was tough for me but I was glad I played that one first," Calhoun said. "It helped me refocus and get ready for the semifinals, and I'm so excited to be playing the finals."
The state final in 4A girls' doubles will feature Kellye McDade and Abby Stainback facing off against teammates Kristin Adams and Kristin Mee in the final.
McDade and Stainback reached the final with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Carly Riney and Cori Bloh of Montgomery, and Adams and Mee moved on with a 6-1, 6-1 semifinal win over Kelsey Sachse and Breanne Hutchens of Boerne Champion.
ERICH SCHLEGEL / Special to DMN
Highland Park’s Charlotte Calhoun cruised to a victory in the Class 4A girls singles semifinals.
Stainback will be looking for her third straight girls' doubles title, while Adams and Mee are freshmen playing in their first state tournament.
Another all-area matchup for a state title will be in 4A boys doubles, with Dennis Roy and Kevin Runda of Frisco Centennial facing Tam Trihn and Kyle Plum of Richardson Pearce.
Roy and Runda had few problems getting to the final, losing only seven games in two straight-sets wins. Trihn and Plum moved to the state title match with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Nick Blazier and Jimmy Yates of Abilene Cooper.
Also set to play in state finals are: McKinney North's Brandon Florez (4A boys singles), Richardson Pearce's Hannah and Jonny Kelley (4A mixed doubles) and Plano West's Matt Andrus and Ben Guthrie (5A boys doubles).
Florez won all four of his matches, including a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) win against Corpus Christi Ray's Coy Dobson in the semifinals.
The Kelleys moved on with a 6-1, 6-1 semifinal win against Charles Allred and Hannah Macha of Wichita Falls Rider, and Andrus and Guthrie got to the final with a 6-4, 6-4 decision over Matt Dooley and Tanner Brown of New Braunfels.
Southlake Carroll's mixed doubles duo Stewart Pittman and Taylor Jurica advanced to the 5A state semifinals but fell to New Braunfels' Scott Keeton and Hidako Tachibana, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Robert Thomas is a freelance writer in Austin.
