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Tennis: Marcus' mixed team makes program history
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
Marcus' tennis team has made plenty of trips to the UIL Class 5A Region I Tournament in the past.
But never has head coach Kelly Langdon had so many players to follow and instruct in his 11-year tenure at Marcus.
The Marauders headed to Lubbock Monday and Tuesday to compete in the regional tournament and traveled with its largest contingent of qualifiers in program history (six).
"It was quite the experience," Langdon said. "Not only did we have players that did well, but it was just exciting to get to go up there with that many people. It's the most players we've had and in the most events since I've been [at Marcus]."
Leading the way was the mixed doubles team of Kyle Barnes and Madison Carr, which finished as runner-up and became the first mixed team from Marcus to qualify for state.
There wasn't a lack of drama in the pair's run either as a three-set thriller in the third-place match and a win in a playback match were required to punch their ticket.
Barnes and Carr cruised in their first two matches, winning both by 6-2, 6-1 margins to advance to the quarterfinals, where they ran into and were defeated by eventual champions Austin McCasin and Kellie Anderson of Southlake Carroll (6-3, 6-4).
The loss relegated Marcus' duo to the third-place match, where they defeated Coppell's Tyler Stayer and Abby White (6-4, 6-7, 6-3).
"I was especially pleased because it was against a team they had lost to earlier in the season at the Keller Tournament," Langdon said.
Marcus carried the momentum of the three-set thriller to the playback match, where another hard-fought match ensued against a team from El Paso Coronado. In the end, the Marauder pairing had enough to pull out two tight sets (7-6, 7-6).
"There is no question it was the most exciting match to watch in the tournament," Langdon said. "It was back-and-forth momentum the whole way and was a phenomenal quality of tennis."
In the second set, Marcus trailed, 5-4, and faced a pair of set points but was able to fight off both. The first went Marcus' way after it was ruled that a Coronado player touched the net on a volley. The second came off a winner on a service return by Barnes following a blistering serve up the middle.
Coronado didn't go down easily either, however, fighting off three championship points in the second set before succumbing in the second tiebreaker of the match (7-5).
The Lady Marauders nearly advanced a team to state in girls doubles as well. However, the team of Jordan McDaniel and Michelle Griffith were eliminated in the third-place match by Plano West's Seema Prakash and Alahna Rato (6-2, 6-4) and were not eligible for a playback match. McDaniel and Griffith had previously lost to Prakash and Rato in the finals of the District 8-5A Tournament. In the first two rounds, McDaniel and Griffith advanced in straight sets (6-1, 6-3 and 7-5, 6-2) but the team was relegated to the third-place match after falling against the eventual champions from San Angelo Central in the semifinals (6-1, 6-2).
"I'm so proud of both of them," Langdon said. "They're both seniors and it was a great way for them to finish even though I know they would have loved to make state. But they were right there and I'm proud of the effort they gave not only this year, but for all four years they were with the program. They were exceptional every year and I'm sad to see them go."
Marcus also had a pair of freshman gain valuable experience competing in singles.
On the boys side, Marcus' Sebastian Langdon dropped his first-round match against Nick Melott of San Angelo Central (6-3, 6-1). Melott went on to finish second.
"He got a tough draw," Langdon said. "Sebastian played a good first set, but (Melott) is a good front-runner and once he got the lead in the second set, he never looked back.
"But the good thing for Sebastian as a freshman was just being there. He played well against a kid that is going to state and I think he gained a lot of confidence from the experience."
The same can be said for Marcus' Preethi Kasilingam on the girls side. The freshman won her first match over Keller's Ashton Geuvara (6-3, 6-3) before being eliminated in the second round by San Angelo Central's Claire Williams (2-6, 6-4, 6-4). Williams was seeded No. 3 and has signed to play at Texas Tech.
"Preethi played outstanding," Langdon said. "It was a long, hard-fought match that lasted two hours and 40 minutes."
Langdon said the match was similar to that of the finals at the 8-5A tourney, where Kasilingam was outlasted in three sets by a senior (Allen's Lauren Pineda).
"I think it was just another case of a freshman going up against a senior," he said. "It was a brutally long match with brutally long points and I think the experience of playing in those long matches in that type of pressure was the difference."
Langdon added the Tech coach who was in attendance watching Williams had nothing but positive comments regarding Kasilingam.
Marcus' qualifiers will take aim at state April 30-May 1 in Austin.
"Overall, it was phenomenal tennis and was a great experience for everyone," Langdon said. "I'm glad we have a few that get to go to Austin and hopefully they do well."
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