Lady Stangs out of regional tourney in second round
SAN ANTONIO — The Marble Falls High School girls doubles team of senior Devon Dockery and junior Kyleigh Ann Futrell lost in the second round of the Class 4A Region IV Tennis Tournament Tuesday.
The Lady Mustangs defeated a team from Corpus Christi Gregory-Portland, 7-6 (4), 6-3, but lost to a team from Corpus Christi Flour Bluff, 0-6, 0-6.
IN PHOTO: Marble Falls High School head tennis coach Tim Bourke (center), junior Kyleigh Ann Futrell (left) and senior Devon Dockery. Courtesy photo
“I’m just really proud of the kids,” head coach Tim Bourke said. “You can’t always judge effort by the score.”
The duo, who were the first Lady Mustangs to win the District 25-4A doubles crown in several years, found themselves down, 1-4, in the opening set.
“There were some nerves,” the coach said. “It’s always tough when you’ve never been there. It’s tough to get adjusted.”
During the changeover, Bourke said, he reminded his players to do what got them to the tournament – limiting unforced errors, getting in first serves and forcing the opponent into mistakes.
“I’d like to think the girls understand it, so they didn’t panic,” he said. “They took it point-by-point.”
The coach also reminded them to breathe.
“I got them to relax a little bit in the changeover,” he said. “Just worry about doing your job then reminding them of the things we teach them to do. By doing that you’re always in a position to succeed. It was a tremendous comeback.”
Coaches decided to seed only four teams, so Marble Falls faced the No. 4 seed in the second round.
“They were just a little flat,” Bourke said of his players. “(Flour Bluff) always has tennis players. They always have kids who can play and compete. They were solid. They played well. They really didn’t give us anything.”
The way Flour Bluff competed put more pressure on Marble Falls to play flawless tennis, Bourke said.
“We had several unforced errors,” he said. “A lot of it had to do with (Flour Bluff) not missing anything. They played real clean and made us hit the ball, and we didn’t make them hit enough.”
The reason Marble Falls did not get seeded is because it does not have the name recognition it once had.
But with Futrell and Dockery winning the district crown this year and junior Connor Docherty finishing as the runner-up in boys singles in district play last year, Bourke believes it’s just a matter of time until the rest of the region recognizes the Marble Falls program again.
And the coach believes the Lady Mustangs had the best route to advancing past the first day of regional play despite not getting a seed.
“We were in as good a position as we could hope for,” he said.
Despite the result, Bourke said he was pleased with the players’ efforts.
“They truly did all they can,” he said. “They made adjustments – they just ran out of time before they could figure out how to win.”