Trio of GHS tennis players advance to state tournament

After winning the district tournament, the Gatesville High School tennis team sent five qualifiers to the Regional 4A Championship Tournament held April 11-12 in Bryan-College Station.

Slone Early won in the boys singles division and will progress to state competition in San Antonio. Joining him will be teammates Ty Warren and Alex Scott, the winners of the boys doubles competition. In addition to Early, Warren, and Scott, other regional qualifiers who competed were Callie Smith and Kasey Fitzer.

GHS head tennis coach Wendell Jones said, “School history had been set today.” In previous years, GHS has never sent more than one student to the state tennis tournament in one season.

“I knew this possibility was with us to have two finish first and go to state. This will be the first time in school history we’ll be taking more than one division to state in tournament tennis,” Jones said. The last time boys singles reached the state level was 15 years ago. Even more astounding is the fact that the boys doubles team has not reached the state level since 1950, 73 years ago.

Callie Smith took on Caden Proctor of Houston Scarborough and won 2-6, 6-0, 6-4. Smith lost her next match to Maddi Majors of Bullard, 6-2, 6-0. Kasey Fitzer defeated Brooke Caddy of Center 6-2, 6-2, and lost to Madeline Inman of Lago Vista 6-1, 6-4.

Slone Early defeated William Webb of Manor Tech 6-2, 6-1. Early also defeated Dylan Leps of Huffman Hargrave 6-0, 6-0 and Kaden Slider of Robinson 7-5, 6-1.

The boys doubles team of Ty Warren and Alex Scott defeated Gavin McFarlin and Jackson New of Livingston 6-3, 6-3. Warren and Scott also defeated Ethan Kohler and Westyn Hassell of Jacksonville 6-1, 6-0, and Connor Hughson and Waylon Chapman of Caldwell 6-3, 6-3.

Assistant tennis coach Kimberly Chaffin said, “This being my first year here and getting to be a part of the tennis program, I’ve been able to hear about all of the success and about how everyone has been getting to a point like this. To hear that school history has been made and I get to be a part of it is even more special.”

Brit Campbell, another GHS assistant tennis coach, reflected on the team victories by saying, “I’m super proud of them. Going into it I told them that you’re deserving of this and that they could get things done and now you’ve got to go and do it. I was very pleased with how they played today and how they competed. They backed each other up.”