It will be a Freak-y Friday, Saturday and Sunday in New Braunfels.
That is because the Tennis Freaks from North Galveston County are headed back for the USA Team Tennis State Championships, to be held at the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch.
Three Tennis Freak teams, each coached by Patrick Albro and home-based at the Bay Area Racquet Club in Clear Lake City, will be competing, including the 18-and-under advanced team, the TF Surfers, who earned an automatic invitation to the three-day event.
The Surfers feature Haley Albro, Casey Armstrong, Ryan Behrle, Hunter Carrithers, Amber Darr, Peyton Hardman and Rebekah Taylor.
Meanwhile, winning at the regional level to also earn state berths were the TF Rockers, the 18s upper division team, and the TF Skaters, the 14s upper division team.
The TF Rockers beat the city of Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Kingwood and The Woodlands en route to their title.
Rockers team members include Katherine Brouillard, Nathaniel Canon, Madison Doeckle, Laura Holzenkamp, Rachel Jones, Natasha Morgan, Matt O’Connor, Mike O’Connor, Suzanne Standly and Brandon Worthum.
As for the TF Skaters, they, too, won regionals with wins over South Shore Harbour, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department and the Tennis Freak Smashers.
The Skaters team members are Dilan Behrle, Dalton Farine, Kelly Jones, Dillon Kalla, Audrey Le, Elizabeth Le and Mason Roberts.
Bronze Figures
Placing third at the regional tournament were the Tennis Freak Smashers.
The Smashers included Sydney Albro, Austin Belknap, Todd Fanders, Garret Krist, Andrew Lajaunie, Kate Martinez, Gabby Miralles, Casey Parker, Miraj Patel and Syndey Schroder.
Moving On Up
Friendswood High School’s tennis team jumped eight spots to finish ranked 16th overall in the final Texas Tennis Coaches Association Class 5A team tennis rankings.
“Actually, I really do feel like we were one of the top 10 teams in the state,” Mustangs second-year coach David Cook said.
Friendswood, which ended the season at 15-3, reaching the Region III-4A championship match before losing to eventual state runner-up and No. 2-ranked Montgomery, had started the year ranked No. 22.
The Mustangs, despite a winning record, then dropped to No. 23 before landing their latest and final ranking.
“Most of the ranked teams come from the Dallas area, so maybe we have to go play up north next year,” Cook said.
“Rankings are a nice reflection of what you’ve accomplished but not why we do it. I guess we’re pleased to have moved up. There are only seven other schools in the state that can say they are the top two in their region.”
Homeschool For The Holidays
Sam Chadwell’s home-schoolers from the League City and Nassau Bay areas will meet at their regularly scheduled time slots on Nov. 23.
Meanwhile, the League City Parks and Recreation afternoon classes have been canceled for the week of Nov. 23 because of the Thanksgiving holidays.
Chadwell will be offering two private invitational camps the morning of Nov. 23 if enough interest is shown.
The first camp, for ages 6 to 11, will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., and the second camp, for junior high and high schoolers, will meet from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Today is the last day to register for the sessions. The cost is $15 per individual and $25 per family.
For information or to register, call Chadwell at 713-818-9109 or e-mail him at coachsam(at)chadwelltennis.com.
Center Isle
The city of Galveston Parks and Recreation Department has been awarded the 2010 Texas Amateur Athletic Federation Region I tennis tournament.
Menard Park’s Scoggins-Stiglich Tennis Courts will serve as the tournament headquarters for the state-qualifying tournament, according to John Armstrong, the city’s superintendent of recreation.
Armstrong also will serve as the tournament director.
Plans already are in the making to get more participation from the various Region I members, including Pasadena and League City, which in past years have not competed.
Regional regulars in the past have been Texas City, Baytown, Beaumont and, most recently, Galveston.
Tip Of The Day
Suffering from tennis elbow? That has a lot to do with the vibration of the racket meeting the ball.
Consider stringing your racket at a lower tension so the looser string face can absorb more of the ball’s impact.
You can try using a thicker string or adding lead tape to increase the racket’s overall mass.
You also could be using the wrong grip size on your racket, so you may want to increase or decrease the handle size.
Manuel Moreno Jr., head tennis coach at Pasadena J. Frank Dobie High School, is the Spring Branch Independent School District’s Denene Bammel and District 22-5A “Coach of the Year” for 2009. E-mail him at mmjtenicon(at)aol.com.
