Rebel netters roll to Regionals

From STAFF REPORTS

The Hays High Rebel team tennis squad will continue their season as they qualified for the Regional Tournament which will be held in San Antonio on October 28-29.

The Rebels finished runner-up in the District 27-4A meet to state-power Alamo Heights at Clemens High School. Only the Rebels and Mules advance to regionals from the district meet.

“We set a goal of getting to the Regional tournament back in the summer,” Hays head coach Debbie Cook said. “We felt we had one of the strongest teams we have had in a while and this would be our year.”

The Rebels finished round robin play prior to the District Tournament with a record of 5-1. Their only loss was to the eventual District Champion Alamo Heights.

They took their district record and their season record of 7-3 into the District tournament held last week. On Tuesday, the Rebels faced Lockhart in the first round of play and defeated them 10-1. In the semifinals played Friday night, the Rebels defeated Samuel Clemens by a score of 10-2, which put them into the finals on Saturday morning against Alamo Heights.

Hays fell to Alamo Heights by a score of 10-1 in the morning matchup. In the other side of the draw, Lehman defeated Canyon High School to place 3^rd, which set up a playback rematch against Hays to see who would advance to the Regional Tournament. The Rebels defeated the Lobos by a score of 10-4 to continue their season.

Players that led Hays to Regionals were: Haley Butler, Katelyn Allred, Brooke Fulwiler, Grace Ortiz, Abby Knedlik, Jarett Stewart, Josh Bieter, Caitlin Camp, Sarah Farrell, Ricky Hearn, Jackson Johnson, Raymond Hayes, Sam Simoneau, and Zack Curry

“Coach Lamar Smith and I are very proud of our players, they worked hard, they show great sportsmanship in play and they are very deserving to represent Hays High School at the Regional Tournament,” Cook said. “We are going to go down there and play hard and have some fun.”