WACO — Frisco Centennial is the Class 5A State Team Tennis Champion — again.
Champion in 2023, and ranked No. 1 to begin 2024, Frisco Centennial (20-2) made the ranking official and capped a wire-to-wire, best-in-the-state season with a 10-2 victory over Abilene Wylie in the UIL state tournament final at Baylor University’s Hurd Tennis Center on Thursday.
Following the championship match and medals presentation, the players soaked in accolades from parents, spectators and officials, as did the coaches, head coach Douglas Fair and assistant Carlos Aguilar.
Fair has presided over three straight trips to the state tournament. He said this particular team’s mix of talent and dedication gave them an edge.
“I’m so privileged to coach these kids,” he said. “I think we are really good, but we are also tough. They are so committed, and once you get a taste of winning, you just want more of it. We do it the right way - with class and hard work.”
Like they did the day before against Austin LASA in the semifinals, the Titans came out strong against Wylie (23-6), winning five of the seven doubles matches. However, the Bulldogs put up a fight, as several matches went down to the wire.
In girls No. 1 doubles, Noa Kosman and Akriti Bhati won 6-2, 7-6, prevailing 8-6 in the tiebreaker. Meanwhile, the last doubles match to finish was No. 3 girls. With all their teammates and most spectators watching, Sahasra Dodda and Isha Ratnakaram pulled out a gritty 7-6, 3-6 (11-9) win.
Wylie’s two wins came at mixed doubles and No. 2 boys doubles.
After enduring a four-match losing streak early in the year, the Bulldogs reeled off 19 wins in a row to reach the final.
“These kids fought hard,” Wylie head coach Adam Cherry said. “They came together and really cheered for each other. We had a young group. I’m super excited for the future, and super proud.”
In singles, Centennial players Roshan Sheth, Aarohan Sharma, Trudi Kosman, Bhati and Dodda gave the Titans the necessary wins to put them over the top.
“I felt confident we would come out and play really good singles,” Fair said. “Sometimes, people see scores and think ‘easy,’ but it is not easy. We could have been down 3-4 after doubles. I had a speech ready just in case. I am glad I didn’t have to use that one.”