Carroll dethrones King, 11-7, for district team tennis title

By George Vondracek

Caller-Times

Ray McMurrey thought his Carroll High School tennis team might have been a year away from the point where it could supplant King as the District 29-5A kingpins.
   But he doesn't mind being off by about 12 months.
   Ranked three spots lower than King in the state coaches poll, the Tigers knocked off the Mustangs for the third time this season, 11-7, for the district title Saturday at the Team Tennis tournament at the H.E.B. Tennis Center.
   "It's surprising because we've been a young team," said McMurrey, in his first year as coach. "I knew this year we were coming into maturity. I knew we'd play 'em super close, but maybe still be on the losing end. There's no way I expected to beat them three times."
   Saturday's clincher came in the No. 6 girls singles match when Carroll senior Sheila Asaad outlasted Selena Trevino, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5. That gave the Tigers 10 points out of a possible 18. Seconds later, Carroll's Keith McLellan defeated Robert Reid, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, in No. 6 boys singles to ice matters.
   As her match extended, Asaad was aware of how close the Tigers were to winning their first team title since 1996.
   "I was kind of nervous, but at the same time I was thinking about the game count and what I needed to do to win," Asaad said.
   As in the two previous meetings between the schools, marathon matches were prevalent. Seven went to three sets. Carroll, ranked 23rd, won all but one of those. In No. 1 boys doubles, King's D.J. Petros, the defending boys singles champ, and Michael Richter teamed to beat Rene Gloria and Narayan Mulukutla, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
   "That's where they got us, in those third sets," first-year King coach Steve Barton said. "That's where the gutted it out. They played well in those third sets."
   The Tigers didn't fare too badly in doubles, either, winning five of those seven matches.
   "We dug ourselves a deep hole coming out of the doubles," Barton said. "We had lost five of seven matches. It was uphill from there. But we almost pulled it out."
   The Mustangs pulled even at 6-6 after Petros beat Gloria, 6-0, 6-1, in No. 1 boys singles. But wins from Andrew Mott, Cody Adler and Mandy Bollinger pushed Carroll's edge to 9-6. Dan Jandl's win in No. 2 singles brought King within 9-7 before Asaad's win over Trevino.
   No. 23 Carroll and No. 20 King advance to the Region IV-5A tournament in two weeks, which also will be held at H.E.B. Those state rankings don't reflect the Tigers' two previous wins over the Mustangs.