Saturday, April 27, 2024
Gatesville High School varsity players Ty Warren, Slone Early and Alex Scott capped their competitive team tennis career this fall as the Hornets won the District 7-4A championship for the third straight year, defeating Lampasas High School 10-9 in tournament play.
And while those matches will be the ones that they remember long after high school has ended, the competition is not what they will miss the most.
The three have played sports together since they were in grade school, beginning on Little League teams in the fourth grade, and joining the Gatesville tennis program in their freshmen year.
With their shared background in baseball, that seemed like the sport they would play throughout high school, but they ended up on the tennis team instead.
Ty Warren said it was because he was "looking for an easy way out," thinking that "tennis would be the easiest sport to play." He soon learned otherwise.
"I started enjoying it, and learned how competitive it could be," Warren said.
Slone Early was also playing baseball at the time, but "all my other friends were playing tennis," so he tried out for the team, and ended up "falling in love with the sport." The sport was already a family affair, as Early's cousins Shy and Stormy were standout tennis players at GHS in previous years.
Alex Scott had only played baseball, but his father saw his son's potential differently. "My dad wanted me to play tennis over baseball," Scott said, "because I had only ever played baseball until then, and I sucked at baseball."
All three agreed that the highlight of the fall season was the third straight district championship in overcoming Lampasas, coming as it did in their senior year, and because of how challenging and close the matches were overall.
For Warren and Scott, another high point was their doubles win over Wall High School and the Class 3A doubles champs. Gatesville competes in Class 4A.
"Even though they're 3A," Warren said, "they were state champs last year, so we knew it would be tough going in."
Coach Wendell Jones told the Messenger that Warren, Scott, and Early have been key to Gatesville's success on the courts this year. As the "nucleus of the team, they've been very dependable all year long for wins," Jones said.
And if they don't win, it's "because we're playing some very good opponents," according to Jones.
With the tough competition and the district win, their senior year has already been a memorable one, but competition is not what these players will miss the most.
All three agreed that they would miss being with the team the most.
Warren said that "I'll miss traveling to the different tournaments, and the fun we have on and off the courts." He also said that he would miss the friendships made with players from other teams.
"Playing as long as you do, over the four years you make a lot of friends on teams you play against, and I'll miss that," Warren said.
Early also said that he would miss being with the team, because "even though tennis is an individual sport, you're still playing as part of a team, and I'll miss getting to do that."
And those ties extend beyond that court and into the stands, as Slone's mother and Gatesville High School English teacher and Messenger writer Se'Vette Early explained.
"I'm going to miss this tennis family," Early said. "You're not just out rooting for your own kid, you're out there for all of them."
David Scott, Messenger reporter and Alex's father, said that watching the three boys together was "like watching the Three Musketeers, because they're always together."
Both parents plan on doing what they can to be at every match this last year of their sons' high school career.
Early said that she has made it to every game of Slone's career, even though "the paycheck takes a hit" in making it to away games, particularly during the spring season when the schedule has matches many miles away from Gatesville.
Scott had said that he's looking forward to getting to all of Alex's games this year as well, because in this final year of his son's career, "it's going to be worth the trips to get to see him play."
And though none of the three players plan to pursue tennis competitively after high school, Scott has seen his son learn life lessons that will remain well past their graduation date.
"They put tennis first," Scott said, "And they'd rather be out practicing than just playing video games."
