H.M. King’s non-varsity tennis players had a good showing at the Kingsville Fall Tournament with the freshman winning their division. Kneeling (left to right) are Wil Riley, Joseph Galindo and Sarah Sedory. Standing behind them are JC Gonzalez, Michael Zamora, Matthew Perez and Cody Tullos. Not pictured is Candice Mireles. H.M. King High School’s freshman tennis players won their division’s team trophy during an annual fall tournament hosted by the Brahmas last week. The locals went up against schools from Alice, Beeville, Corpus Christi Ray, Moody, John Paul II, and Rockport-Fulton.

Sarah Sedory finished second in the freshman girls singles event. Matthew Perez came in second in freshman boys singles. Cody Tullos and Wil Riley took first consolation in boys doubles. Ricky Gonzalez reached the quarterfinals in junior varsity boys singles.

“This tournament win and trophy were a big surprise,” Coach Ed Gonzales said. “I knew the j.v. and freshman players were coming along after our recent team tennis season but they really surprised me as far as how they performed this weekend.”

Gonzales said his non-varsity players’ success came from equal contributions on the court.

“One big reason we did so well at this tournament was because everyone on this team advanced to the quarterfinal round and above so this was a true team effort as everyone picked up lots of points,” Gonzales said. “I am very proud of them and I am definitely looking forward to the rest of the year and seeing more improvement from each of these kids as we go along.”

H.M. King’s greenhorns have learned plenty this fall while tussling with opposition - especially from District 31-4A - at numerous dual meets.

“Team tennis did a lot of that, I think their eyes became wide open as they found out how tough the other schools in our district are,” Gonzales said. “Especially when you have teams like Flour Bluff and Calallen who are state ranked, facing them definitely helps us. It is putting them in these kinds of situations that seasons them and our tournament schedule in the spring is going to be pretty tough so hopefully by the time we start having dual meets we will have a good future ahead of us as long as we keep working.”

Confident his younger players can handle the heat, Gonzales will continue throwing them into the fire.

“They just need more court time and match play,” Gonzales said. “Right now they are still working out on which shots to hit plus singles and doubles strategy but our upcoming tournaments will give them plenty of opportunities to work on that while putting them in pressure situations that will help them down the road.” Lady Badgers JV,