Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Strand facing a familiar opponent

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Monday, May 7, 2001
Strand facing a familiar opponent
Flour Bluff tennis player will challenge Rowling in Austin
By Matt Young
Caller-Times
One of the toughest parts about preparing for the state tennis tournament is the great unknown: the opponent. Most players enter the state tournament with no idea about their first-round opponents' strengths or weaknesses.
   Flour Bluff's Reid Strand and Dallas Highland Park's Blake Rowling won't have that problem when they meet in the Class 4A state quarterfinals at 9 a.m. today at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center in Austin.
   Strand and Rowling grew up as childhood friends and spent a lot of time together on tennis courts around Corpus Christi. In 1997, Rowling moved when his father - Robert Rowling, Omni Hotels chairman - moved his Omni Hotels headquarters from Corpus Christi to Dallas.
   Now, Strand and Rowling talk on the phone occasionally and run into each other in junior tournaments every so often. Strand beat Rowling 7-6, 6-1, in their last meeting in the Dallas National Open in November.
   "I probably haven't talked to him since February, but I'm sure we'll talk before our match," Strand said. "It should be a friendly match, because we both get along with each other really well."
   By all accounts, it should also be a highly competitive one. H.E.B. Tennis Center professional Steve Denton is familiar with both players and couldn't pick a clear favorite.
   Denton coached Rowling when he lived in Corpus Christi and still tutors him occasionally. Although he has never coached Strand, Denton has hit with him a few times and seen several of his matches.
   "It will be a contrast in styles," Denton said. "Reid's a fast player. He's an aggressive baseline player, who does a good job of defending the court and counterpunching. Blake has a big left-handed serve and attacks more. Those styles going against each other usually make for really good matches. It will be like Andre Agassi against Pete Sampras, only on a much lower level, obviously."
   Strand plays in about 15 non-high school tournaments a year, including pressure-packed national tournaments that have made him a ranked player in the United States Tennis Association and earned him a scholarship to Indiana University next year.
   "I should be ready to play because this is a big high school tournament, but I've played in much bigger tournaments in the past," Strand said. "I've played in front of big crowds, and I've played in front of a lot of scouts and stuff like that. I think the whole nervous thing has passed. Nerves shouldn't be a problem at all."
   If Strand gets past Rowling today, Flour Bluff coach Susan McCarn thinks her pupil has a good chance at winning Flour Bluff's first state tennis title since Brady Wells' championship in 1995.
   "I think he has a great shot to win state," McCarn said. "We really think the first round will tell us a lot, because he's got a very tough first match. If he gets past that, he should be in good shape."

Contact Matt Young at 886-3702 or youngm@caller.com

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