Friendswood's tennis team opened the 2026 fall season with two losses at Boerne, falling 16-3 to Boerne Champion on Saturday, Aug. 8, and 11-8 to Boerne High on Sunday, Aug. 9.

The results mark a rare stumble for a program that sent three doubles teams to the UIL Class 5A state tournament last May. But head coach David Cook said the 0-2 start reflects a roster in transition, not a program in decline.

"We did graduate our top two boys and top three girls from last year's team," Cook told The Daily News. "So, we are playing our current roster in much higher spots than they have been used to in past seasons."

Gone are Preston Rigsby, Riley Rand, Maadhvi Bhojani and Evia Rand, all of whom competed at state. The returning core of Alyssa Borda, Simran Virdi, Sophia Burkhalter, Cate Allan and boys' player Dalton Neumeyer now carries the load.

Against Boerne Champion, Burkhalter and Allan were the Mustangs' only two-time winners, taking both their singles matches and their doubles pairing. The rest of the lineup struggled against a strong Chargers squad.

The second day told a different story. The Lady Mustangs accounted for seven of Friendswood's eight individual wins against Boerne High, with Borda, Allan, Evelyn Sarafin and Presley Longwell all winning singles. Girls doubles teams of Borda/Virdi, Allan/Burkhalter and Longwell/Sarafin swept their matches, and the mixed doubles pair of Sophia Barraza and Jack Binder added another win.

Cook noted the improvement from one day to the next, saying the team's doubles play improved "immensely" between the two matches.

The girls' dominance fits a pattern Cook identified before the season. "In the past few years, our matches often depended on our girls winning the majority of theirs to win as a team," he said in a preseason preview published July 31. "That may still be true this year."

Seven matches into the Boerne High contest, it already is.

Clear Creek rolls in opener

Across the area, Clear Creek had no such growing pains. The Wildcats blanked Pasadena Dobie 19-0 on Monday, Aug. 10, in their annual season-opening trip to the Longhorns' home courts.

Freshman Malia Douglas earned her first varsity win, shutting out Michelle Medrano 8-0 at No. 4 girls singles. Zaki Gilani also picked up his first varsity victory, beating Christian Garza 8-4 at No. 6 boys singles.

"It's always good to start the season on a high note with a win," Clear Creek head coach Derick Geise said.

What's next

Friendswood hosts Clear Springs on Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 3 p.m. The Mustangs open defense of their District 20-5A title Tuesday, Sept. 1, against La Porte.