High Definition Domination

HDD no longer stands for High Definition Digital...it stands for Harlingen Dominates District. From day one, it was plainly (and painfully for some) evident that the Cardinals and the Hawks would, once again, assert themselves as the clearly defined favorites.

April 6, 2009 I arrive just in time to catch the tail end of Tomas Stillman's singles match. I slowly pull out the lens to the Nikon camera when Coach Holder says, "Jorge, if you want to take pictures of Tomas, you'd better hurry, 'cause it's gonna be over fast!"

watching the match on the next court and politely waiting for the changeover before walking off. Such are the mannerisms of the two Harlingen teams, reflecting greatly upon their coaching.

Next, I would catch Victoria Wright playing singles. I planted myself just inside the fence and snapped off a couple of pictures and thought about how this is her final year and how her expressiveness shows in the pictures we've taken of her over the past year. I look up just in time to see her wail a forehand cross court. Her opponent has no chance to get to it and cries out in total frustration. Behind me, I hear the Harlingen Cardinals cheer for their heroine, in whom Coach Tanamachi has wisely placed their hopes. Over and over the cheers of the Cardinals team would fill the air as Miss Wright exploited every opportunity. She wins her first match easily, and we get some great pictures.

"It's really cold!", I think as I see the kids with jackets and blankets...some of them asleep on the floor. I step over a few just in time to catch Haley Swanberg win her doubles match, Coach Tanamachi stepping in to give advice on every crossover and cheering when they followed his admonition. "Haley Swanberg is a freshman?!? And she has a forehand like that?!?", I ask. Coach Tanamachi, who normally keeps his cards very close to his chest, allows himself a smile. Haley Swanberg is one to watch.

Next we see Sarah Flores and Joana Pallapati of the mighty Hawks win their first doubles match. The improvement these two have made since I first saw them play a year ago is amazing. They dispose of their prey easily and advance as most of the Harlingen players on both sides do on the first day. The only team that impressed us, other than the two Harlingen teams, was the boy's doubles team of Rommel and Ron Verano. Immediately I felt dissapointment that there would not be a meeting between Verano and Stillman, but one could see the wisdom in the team strategy. The Verano brothers looked unstoppable and would prove to be so.

Day two would be "finals" day. The day when the champions play. I would spend the first part of the morning covering the 32-3A (that story coming right after this one - boy, do I have alot of work to do) and would get to Edinburg after some of the finals had already been played.

Boy's Singles:

Tomas Stillman of the Harlingen Hawks defeated Chris O'Regan of the Harlingen Cardinals in straight sets, winning 6-1, 6-1. O'Regan is no push over either. Chris is known as "bread basket", because he has a reputation for beating his opponents with racquet in one hand while eating a dinner roll with the other. "These guys are good, but Tomas is at a whole other level", says Don VanRamshorst of the Harlingen Tennis Center. I congratulate Tomas and ask for a picture to which he replies with his usual, "sure". He thanks me and shakes my hand. He's thanking me?!? Again, such manners reflect greatly on their coaching. Chris O'Regan would not be denied his place at regionals, however. He defeated home town favorite Arnulfo Duarte of Edinburg. Chris played like a man with a mission, making his team, his coach and everyone who reads this proud. So it was that Harlingen took the top two places in the boy's singles division.

Boy's Doubles:

The Verano brothers, Rommel and Ron, would be the dark horse and took the Boy's doubles title. They would face yet another Harlingen team in the form of Juanito Flores and Bonner Youngblood of the mighty Cardinals. The Verano brothers, who many assumed would be playing singles, would surprise us all by competing in doubles. A smart coaching move, they would take the boy's doubles title winning 6-3, 6-2.

Girl's Singles:

The final of the girl's singles would be a war between Harlingen Cardinal Victoria Wright and Edinburg's Chantel Najera. I settled in with my trusty camera and telephoto lens to catch the action. After taking several pictures of both players, I looked behind me to see the entire Cardinals team at the fence cheering for Victoria. I was taken off guard as I looked behind them and to the left where some of the Harlingen Hawks had gathered and were also cheering for Wright. Victoria Wright had once been a Hawk. Victoria Wright had once been one of their own. Victoria Wright, true, is a Cardinal; but, in that moment, I realized what they already knew. Victoria was Harlingen. She was one of their own. She had been and; always would be, in a word...family.

When I turned my attention back to the match, she had lost the first set. Coach Tanamachi would interject every chance he could, but Najera had the momentum on her side and would nullify Wright's counter punching. Edinburg won the first set 6-4 as Chantel broke Victoria then easily held her serve. After the first set was done, Coach Tanamachi almost ran to Victoria to discuss strategy. It would prove to be one of the factors that made the difference. In the second set, Wright seemed more relaxed and loose. Her forehand, that had been such a weapon when I saw her play the day before, was back in form. On Victoria's first serve, she began using the can opener by hitting her serve wide and forcing Najera off the court then hitting the ball into the open court. Victoria began to slice her forehand and show the variety in her game that undid whatever strategy Najera had used in the prior set. "I wish I could keep her for another year", said Coach Tanamachi. "She actually started school early, but there's nothing I can do. She seems to be settling down in this set. Her opponent is tough".

Najera would hit high arcing balls only to have Wright return them with deep arc balls of her own. As soon as Najera was out of position, Wright would use her powerful forehand to hit winner after winner. Slowly, the momentum began to shift in Harlingen's favor. Victoria would win the second set 6-3.

No tie breaker for the third set here. Najera started the third set strong but began to abate in the heat of both the day, and from the pressure of Wright's steady backhand and fearsome forehand. Victoria Wright would avenge the loss of her first set with a total reversal, breaking Chantel down in the third. Wright showed true physical and mental toughness. Victoria Wright won the match and took girl's district with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to the cheers of Cardinals, Hawks, parents and RGVTennis.com.

Coach Tanamachi runs out to the court and shakes her hand. He also, being the gentleman that he is, shakes the hand of Chantel Najera and tells her she played a good match. It's one thing to have your opponent say, "good match" after beating you; it's quite an honor to have her coach take the time to shake your hand like that. We hope to bring you more on Coach Tanamachi soon. He returns to where Victoria is gathering her things and he gives her a fist bump for a job well done.

Girl's Doubles

I missed the girl's doubles final. But I do have the scores!!! It was fought, not surprisingly, by the two Harlingen teams. Catherine Weber and Dalia Lopez defeated Sarah Flores and Joana Pallapati with a score of 6-2, 6-2. I had seen both of these teams play the day before and took plenty of pictures, but I was very disappointed that I had missed the match due to comittments covering the other district finals. I congratulate Weber and Lopez, take a few photos of them with their medals and have no choice but to move on. I make a mental note that I need to get interviews with them after regionals, so look for that in the next few weeks.

Mixed Doubles

The mixed doubles final would also be an all Harlingen battle. Once again, the Cardinals would face off against the Hawks. The (veteran?) team of Thalia Diaz and Bennett Holder would take on the newly formed team of Mary Hayden Manning and Daniel Bracken. Normally, Diaz and Holder would be the easy favorites in any mixed doubles competition, but with Daniel Bracken on the other side of the net, Harlingen South could not breathe easy. "They can't relax. Those guys are dangerous on the other side of the net", said Coach Noe Stillman. "This is a good match to watch".

It was a good match to watch! Both young men were very protective of their female partners and would poach whenever possible. Daniel Bracken would pound overhead after overhead, yet he would still make sure he did not hit Diaz. Bracken served quite well and the Hawks, had difficulty finding an answer, especially when he would serve wide on the deuce side. Bennett Holder would more than "hold" his own as well. With a laser sharp inside out forehand, Holder would amazingly pound his forehand with a ferocious amount of topspin that would dip the ball hard at the feet of Mary Hayden Manning. She would have a difficult time and began to slump mentally a bit, but Bracken would not allow it. Over and over we could hear him revitalize his partner whenever she made a good shot and even when she missed. Manning and Diaz were not delicate in the match either. Both held their own and did not show fear when the young men would rush the net. Manning served the ball well, but it was her quick reflexes after serving to Holder that was quite impressive to watch. Diaz was methodical with her continuously steady backhand, always searching for the slightest of openings to pound her forehand at the Cardinals.

The first set went to and fro with neither team getting an upper hand. Thalia, at the end, was able to set up the much improved Holder at the net and it would be the demise of the Cardinals. The Hawks would win the first set 7-5 in just over a seeminly longer hour.

Coach Holder, between sets, would go over strategy with Bennett and Thalia. She has improved quite a bit in the past year, just as Bennett has. Whatever advice he gave them; it worked. The Hawks were a different team in the second set, jumping to an early lead. Bracken and Manning, being a new team, just could not find a reply as the Hawks gained momentum. The Hawks would triumph over the Cardinals with a final score of 7-5, 6-2.

After his match, Daniel Bracken said: "I'm proud of the way we played. I think I played well and I'm not feeling bad. We had a chance, but they played really well today. Still, I'm going home proud".

Epilogue

They should all be proud. Harlingen's Cardinals and Hawks represented themselves, their parents, their school and their coaches well during district play. I had to leave early due to comittments to league tennis and was thanked by Coach Holder of the Harlingen Hawks for coming out. "The kids really appreciate you and how you support them", he says. "They're great kids, put in alot of effort and are the best mannered and most humble of all the schools that I have covered", I reply. "They are the product of good parenting and great coaching".

And so, I drove home thinking of how I would put this article together. I remembered covering district for the first time last year, and I thought of two players...Catherine Weber and Victoria Wright. Sadly, they are leaving high school tennis as they are both seniors. Both have been terrific subjects to photograph and write about. Both show great emotion on the court and hit the ball like few high school females can. In one of our first articles, we quoted a gentleman saying, "I don't see how these girls can look like Miss America and yet hit like a man". Well, he was referring to these two. Both have proven that if you put in the work, you will secure the goal you want to achieve. Speaking for Don VanRamshorst, JD Davila, Israel and Daniel Trevino, Irene Salinas and myself; all of us at RGVTennis.com thank you for your participation and wish you the best this life has to offer. We don't just cover high school tennis, so maybe we'll see these two grace our pages again soon.

..................Stop that! There's no crying in tennis! If you can still focus your eyes, here are some pictures of the two days we spent covering the district tournament.

Group Photo Courtesy: Lela Weber