Friendswood High School first-year tennis coach Andi Moreno-Morman looked more like a speed walker her first day on the job, pacing to and fro before Charles Ansell finally recorded the decisive win against the Pasadena Dobie Longhorns.
Ansell’s three-set marathon victory, which literally was clinched in the dark, gave Morman a debut to remember, a 10-9 nail-biter over the Longhorns.
“I was just nervous, never having been a head coach until this year,” she said afterward with a smile. “Overall, I was pretty pleased with our first match.”
Ansell overcame a first-set loss to Matthew Giardina in the No. 5 boys singles match, rallying for a 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 win to give the visiting Mustangs a 10-8 advantage.
Friendswood, last year’s Class 4A, Region III team tennis champion, actually trailed after the seven doubles matches, 4-3, but won seven of the 12 singles matches to claim its opening-day win.
Five of those singles wins were on the boys’ side of the lineup, with No. 1 Seth Park, No. 2 Chris Bayer and No. 3 Kevin Melgren winning the top three matchups and Clayton Corbett also winning at No. 6.
Park and Bayer won in straight sets, with Park beating Binh Nguyen 6-2, 6-3 and Bayer defeating Oscar Ayala 6-4, 6-4.
Then, like Ansell, Melgren had to come back from a one-set deficit to beat Tangen Tran 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Corbett later traded sets with Andy Choe before claiming a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 win.
The Mustangs also dominated the top two girls singles matches, with No. 1 Mackenzie Gallegos defeating Nancy Tran 6-2, 6-1 and No. 2 Katherine Laine beating Morgan Carmona 6-2, 7-5.
Next up for Friendswood will be Pearland today at the Mustangs’ home courts, starting at 3 p.m. The Mustangs then will compete in the Deer Park Designated Tournament on Aug. 26-27.
“We’re fairly young, but Friday’s match gave me a chance to see what kind of talent we have,” Morman said. “We just need a little more experience and get more matches in for our younger players. I’m very excited with their ability and what they are able to do.”
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Serve, Stroke & Volley (SSV)
Registration is now open for the 2005-06 SSV High School Tennis Program.
Teaching professionals, coaches and mentors may register their respective schools by visiting the SSV Web site at www.ssvtennis.com and clicking on “Free Club Registration.”
SSV (“Serve, Stroke & Volley) is the original objective basic skills test for determining a player’s tennis ability.
Registration deadline for the fall season is Oct. 1.
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U.S. Open-ing soon
The U.S. Open is set for Aug. 29 through Sept. 11 at the USTA (United States Tennis Association) National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.
Tickets can be purchased four ways: 1) at us open.org; 2) by calling Ticketmaster at (866) OPEN-TIX; 3) at all Ticketmaster outlets; or 4) at the USTA National Tennis Center box office.
This year’s U.S. Open is expected to attract over 625,000 fans from all parts of the world, making it the highest attended annual sporting event worldwide.
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Tip of the day
To improve on your mental toughness on the court, focus on the ball from your opponent’s strings to your strings.
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Manuel Moreno Jr. is a correspondent for The Daily News and head tennis coach at Pasadena J. Frank Dobie High School. He also is Region III vice president for the Texas Tennis Coaches Association. His e-mail address is mmjtenicon(at)aol.com.
