Lehman junior Adolfo Gonzalez fell just short in his attempt to reach the UIL Class 4A State Tennis Tournament for the second time in his high school career. (Photo by Judy Cooper)
By MARK CAUL
Though they put themselves in great position to advance to the state tournament it just wasn’t in the cards for three Lehman Lobo tennis players at last week’s regional tournament at the Blossom Athletic Center in San Antonio.
Junior Adolfo Gonzalez, who advanced to the state boys singles final as a freshman, came a up match short in his bid for a repeat trip to the state tournament as a muscle cramping issue slowed his progress in the regional final loss to Lake Travis’s top-seeded Dustin Archer 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.
Unfortunately, the lingering pain was so severe that Gonzalez was forced to retire in the second place playback match later on in the day against Alamo Heights’ Russell Naumann, whom he had beaten just a week before for the District 27-4A title.
The fact Gonzalez wasn’t able to continue in the playback match meant Archer and Naumann received the bids to the UIL Class 4A State Tournament in Austin.
The playback rule comes into effect if a player reaches the semifinals and loses to the top seed in the tournament. Since Naumann lost to top-seeded Archer and Gonzalez didn’t have to play Archer en route to the finals, Naumann was able to request a playback match against Gonzalez for the right for the final singles spot at the state tourney.
“Adolfo played a beautiful match but just couldn’t overcome the pain,” Lehman head tennis coach Orlando DeLaFuente said. “He battled as hard as he could considering he wasn’t really at full strength. It was extremely disappointing.”
Gonzalez defeated Charles Horseman of Gregory-Portland 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and then breezed past Sean Spiesman of Austin LBJ in the semifinals.
“I’m honestly really disappointed that I won’t have a chance to play at the state tournament,” Gonzalez said. “I’m not a big fan of the playback system because I basically lost all my strength in the finals (against Archer). It was depressing because I had worked so hard to get there and even though I knew I wasn’t going to be able to finish the match, I was winning in the playback game (against Naumann) but just couldn’t go on.”
Gonzalez believes his second consecutive loss in the regional finals will motivate him for one final run next spring.
“Honestly, I think I was on the top of my game and I think right now I am definitely above the level that I was as a freshman when I went to the state final,” said Gonzalez. “I have more power to my shots and I have gotten a lot bigger over the past two years. But now I just need to work on my fitness because I believe that’s what caused me problems this season.”
Meanwhile, the outstanding mixed-doubles duo of John Martin and Desiree Kittel also fell short in their bid for state tournament appearance as they lost in their second place playback game to Lake Travis’ John Martin and Desiree Kittel 6-3, 6-2.
Martin reached the state quarterfinals last spring with Desiree’s older sister Penelope where they lost in three games.
“John and Des played inspired tennis and represented our school very well,” DeLaFuente said. “Unfortunately they ran into the same Alamo Heights team that beat them at district. Their third place finish in a region this tough was an honor by anybody’s standards.”
The Martin/Kittel team defeated the Douglas/Liu pair from Austin LBJ in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 before falling in the semifinals.
DeLaFuente will lose Martin to graduation this spring but looks for both Gonzalez and Kittel to spearhead another talented squad in their final seasons.
“The fact that we had three medalists in such a strong region is something we can all be proud of,” said DeLaFuente. “What really stands out is how our student athletes represented our school and community. They competed with compassion and class. All three of these kids left a lasting impression for sure.”
