Friendswood reached the championship match of the 16th annual Remembering Ike Team Tennis Classic but fell 10-9 to second-seeded Clear Springs on Sunday, Sept. 13.
The Mustangs entered the tournament at Pasadena Dobie as the No. 1 seed and rolled through the bracket, beating Dickinson 15-4 in the first round and Fort Bend Austin 11-8 in the semifinals. Clear Springs, seeded second, cruised past La Porte 9-0 and Fort Bend Ridge Point 18-1 to set up a rematch of an August meeting Friendswood had won 13-6.
This time, Clear Springs won the rematch.
The Chargers' Cameron Ko clinched the title with an 8-2 win over Nick Hammerle at No. 6 boys singles, breaking a 9-9 deadlock. Clear Springs won four of six boys singles matches. Jacob Dake beat Friendswood's Preston Rigsby 8-3 at No. 1 boys, while Priyanka Kamath topped Alyssa Borda 8-1 at No. 1 girls. Lauren Jessel posted an 8-0 shutout at No. 3 girls.
Friendswood had bright spots in singles. Riley Rand and Jack Binder each won 9-7 tiebreakers on the boys side. Cate Allen, Simran Virdi and Presley Longwell won for the girls, with Longwell recording her own 8-0 shutout at No. 6.
"In the finals against Clear Springs, it felt like we ran out of energy a little bit," Friendswood head coach David Cook told The Galveston County Daily News. "They played better than they did in the match we played in August."
Cook said the semifinal against Fort Bend Austin was the Mustangs' best match of the week. He added that the team played well in general through the first two rounds before running low on energy in the final.
Clear Springs head coach Ryan Sarten said his team played well in singles on both sides and praised Kamath, who remains undefeated on the season. Sarten also credited Dake for becoming a leader on the court.
Friendswood, the defending District 20-5A team tennis champion and a Region III-5A finalist last season, is scheduled to host Ball High in district play Tuesday, Sept. 15. In District 18-6A action the same day, Clear Brook is scheduled to travel to Clear Lake.
