TEN: Windham, Cordray bring home bronze medals
and Erika Cordray brought home bronze medals at the Class 3A
State Tennis Championships Monday and today from University
of Texas at Austin. The duo fell to the eventual State champs.
(Photo by John Krueger)
It was a tough road, but the Center mixed doubles duo of Dustin Windham and Erika Cordray gave it a great 'ride' before falling in the Class 3A State Semifinals to the eventual State Champions from Abilene Wylie on Monday at the University of Texas at Austin.
Windham and Cordray began their quest for a State title with a hard-fought 7-6 (4), 6-1 sweep of the pair of Maria Larey and William Henderson from Texarkana Liberty Eylau in the quarterfinal round on Monday morning.
It was a tough match for the Center pair, but they continued to battle back, according to Center Tennis Coach Leon Dykes.
"They started off slow, down 5-2 in the first set, but they came back to win the tiebreaker and went on to win the second set," Dykes explained. "That was a real tough match because Liberty Eylau was the No.1 team from their region."
In other first-round matches, Abilene Wylie's duo of Nick Fischer and Delaney Schroeder defeated the Bellville team of Tucker Hardie and Eden Pawlowski, 6-4, 6-4, in a match that determined who Center would face next.
In the other half of the bracket, LaFeria's Eli Ramos and Erika Gilbert knocked off Josh Madden and Abbie Madden of Borger, 6-1, 6-2. Also, Spring Hill's Maegan Cameron and Mitch Alm defeated Lovejoy's Taylor Johnson and Samantha Wednt, 6-2, 6-2.
The Class 3A State Semifinal matches were played later Monday afternoon. Ramos and Gilbert from LaFeria topped Cameron and Alm of Spring Hill, 6-3, 6-4. Fischer and Delaney of Abilene Wylie were too much for Center's Windham and Cordray, taking a 6-2, 6-1 win to advance to the championship round.
The Abilene Wylie duo then captured the state title earlier today with a 7-6, 4-6, 6-0 victory over the pair from LaFeria.
"Wylie got up on us pretty early in the match and we never got it together," Dykes stated about the semifinal setback. "But Wylie went on to win the State Championship, so you've got to give them credit."
Since there is no playoff for third place, both semifinal losing duos receive bronze medals.
"I'm very proud of Dustin and Erika," the coach stated. "I know they would have liked to play a little better versus Wylie, but it just didn't happen that day. But we're not disappointed in the things they accomplished this year and the fact that they lost to the eventual state champions.
"The competition is so very tough at State. Wylie had participants in three events at State. But we had the opportunity to play against the state's best in Austin and the [University of Texas] facility was really nice and a great experience."
CLASS 3A STATE TOURNAMENT
MIXED DOUBLES RESULTS
Quarterfinals - Monday
Eli Ramos/Erika Gilbert (LaFeria) def. Josh Madden/Abbie Madden (Borger), 6-1, 6-2
Maegan Cameron/Mitch Alm (Spring Hill) def. Taylor Johnson/Samantha Wednt (Lucas Lovejoy), 6-2, 6-2
Nick Fischer/Delaney Schroeder (Abilene Wylie) def. Tucker Hardie/Eden Pawlowski (Bellville), 6-4, 6-4
Dustin Windham/Erika Cordray (Center) def. Maria Larey/William Henderson (Liberty Eylau), 7-6 (4), 6-1
3A State Semifinals - Monday
Eli Ramos/Erika Gilbert (LaFeria) def. Maegan Cameron/Mitch Alm (Spring Hill), 6-3, 6-4
Nick Fischer/Delaney Schroeder (Abilene Wylie) def. Dustin Windham/Erika Cordray (Center), 6-2, 6-1
3A State Championship - Today
Nick Fischer/Delaney Schroeder (Abilene Wylie) def. Eli Ramos/Erika Gilbert (LaFeria), 7-6, 4-6, 6-0