Albany tennis team heads to regionals this weekend

By Melinda L. Lucas

With a mix of veteran experience and rising talent, nine Albany High School athletes will compete in five events at the Region II-2A tennis tournament May 9-10, hoping to secure a trip to the state tournament.

The regional competition will be held at Richland Tennis Center in North Richland Hills. The top two finishers in each bracket will qualify for the UIL Class 2A State Tournament, set for May 15-16 in San Antonio.

Among the top contenders are senior twins Abi and Jake Hale, returning regional champions in mixed doubles. This year, however, they’ll enter as district runners-up after being edged out by their younger teammates, juniors Mimi Ivy and Cade Fairchild.

“This group is hungry,” said head coach M.J. Reneau. “Abi and Jake know what it takes, and our younger players have been putting in the work. We’re going into this weekend with confidence.”

Sophomore girls doubles champions Hattie Braly and Charlee Hefner, freshman boys singles winner Aiden Vickers, and boys doubles runners-up Woods Peterson and Jaxson Street round out Albany’s qualifiers.

The team will travel Thursday, with a 1 p.m. sendoff before a 6 p.m. seeding meeting. Several of the boys will play in the area doubleheader baseball playoff in Colorado City Thursday afternoon and will be whisked off afterward to join the rest of the tennis team in North Richland Hills.

Bracket play begins at 8 a.m. Friday, with no first-round byes and no playback matches due to UIL’s decision to advance the top three finishers in each draw.

Reneau said despite a busy spring schedule and no warm-up tournament, the athletes are healthy and prepared.