State-Level Tennis Results for Eight Years Running!

The Memorial High School Team Tennis program has plenty to be proud about as 2016 nears its final hours. This highly competitive team has competed at state UIL competition eight years in a row and finished as 6A state runner-up team recently.

Only four teams across Texas qualify for the state tournament. The annual state championship was held Nov. 2-3 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center and Omar Smith International Tennis Center at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Memorial High Head Tennis Coach is Bud Booth. Tennis Assistant Coach is Carol Andrews. Booth says the Memorial players are both dedicated and talented, which makes for a great combination.

“Over the years, we have had a lot of depth on both the boys and girls side, and our players are strong from the No. 1 player down to the No. 7 or No. 8 player, which gives us our strength,” he said.

“The student athletes have a lot to balance with academics, Texas and national tournaments, and a tough Memorial High School schedule. We try to make sure they have fun and enjoy high school tennis – like a Friday fun day,” Booth said.

“I think the success they have had over the years is because they truly enjoy their teammates, team dinners and the road trips to regionals and state. It’s truly been a pleasure to have such great student-athletes to work with,” the winning coach also said.

SBISD Executive Director of Athletics Paige Hershey said the district is incredibly proud of Memorial’s student-athletes, coaches and program. “We absolutely could not be prouder than we are of the way they conducted themselves this season on their journey to compete in the state championship,” she said. “They are true champions in every sense of the word!”

Key team highlights in recent years include the following recognitions:

• State Finalists – 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016
• State Semifinalists – 2009, 2014, 2015
• Regional Team Tennis Champions – 8 Years in a Row!
• District Team Tennis Champions – 12 Years in a Row With 115-0 Record!
• State 2016 Boys Singles Quarterfinalist – Andrew Esses

The Memorial High 2016-2017 Varsity Tennis Team includes:

Boys Varsity
Seniors – Sebastian Dominguez, Trent Herndon, Anthony Huynh, Neil Mabee, Ryan Nehring, Will Schuster
Juniors – Andrew Esses, Andrew Gilbert, Ben Westwick, Artur Zigman
Sophomores – Graham Abaoag, Thomas Graves, Walker Herzog, Cole Rassner, John Schleider, Drew Shuvalov, Taylor Stafford

Girls Varsity
Seniors – Alexis Bennett, Caroline Linker, Sarah Mabee, Maya Prakash, Brooke Van der Viel, Lauren Vu
Juniors – Eva Jacobs, Connally Mooring, Chloe Sands, Alex Walsh
Sophomores – Gracie Hamilton, Natalie Hur, Nina Solovyeva, Alexa Torrado
Freshmen – Natalija Dimitrijevic

Tennis team manager is sophomore Christina Vlahakos.

For details, including team records, results, rankings and photos, please visit Memorial High School Tennis.