by Mark Cisneros
When the dust finally settled in a competitive match against the Hays Rebels Sept. 8, the Lehman Lobos emerged with the team’s fourth straight win in a row.
Lehman did so by besting Hays 10-7 in a match that took nearly six hours to complete. Lehman’s three point win was the narrowest final margin between the two teams in over four years.
The Lobos got off to a hot start early on, winning five of their seven doubles matches, including all three girls doubles matches.
In girls doubles, freshman Mady Mireles, who played in the top spot alongside senior Alex Rivera, knocked off Hays’ Makenzie Sutaris and Sarah Mendiola in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1.
After winning a decisive first set, the Lobo girls doubles team of senior Raven Hamilton and junior Ana Heysquierdo dropped the second set before closing out 10-3 in a super-tiebreaker in the third set.
The freshman girls doubles team of Izzy Carrera and BB Thomsen notched a win in straight sets 6-3, 7-5.
The turning point of the match took place when the mixed-doubles team of senior Nathan Rangel and junior Sofia Gonzalez rallied from a 5-1 deficit to take the first set 7-5. They persevered through a second set tiebreaker loss to win a third set super-tiebreaker 10-8.
Seniors Diego De La Fuente, Alex Rivera and Raven Hamilton all earned singles wins before the Rebels came roaring back with wins of their own. Rebels Billon Smithart, Cory Estrada and siblings Phillip and Abby Butler each scored wins in their singles matches.
The Lobos scored the team’s 9th win of the day when Mireles knocked off her opponent 6-3, 6-4. Lehman led Hays 9-7 with three matches left.
Lobo junior Benu Liburd and Rebel Thomas Farrell were engaged in a furious match that featured aggressive play from both sides.
Liburd trailed early, but came roaring back to win the first set 7-5. Farrell rallied to take the second set 6-3.
With the team win on the line, temperatures dipping into the 60s and the clock already past 10 p.m., Liburd closed out the match with a 10-5 super-tiebreaker third set win to end the match.
With the win, Lehman improves to 3-2 on the year and 1-0 in district play. The Lobos travel to Bastrop Thursday.
Hays travels to play in a dual match against Leander and Vista Ridge on Sept. 17.
