One year ago, the Coppell tennis team fell to Highland Park in the same round of playoffs. Coppell returned to the court this year with a shot at redemption and seized the victory.
On Friday, the Coppell tennis team defeated Highland Park, 10-5, in the Class 6A Region I area playoffs at High Point Tennis Center in Plano. Coppell faces Flower Mound today at 12 p.m. in the Class 6A Region I quarterfinals at Flower Mound High School.
“The energy was purely electric,” Coppell coach Alyssa Noonan said. “I have never seen any team come together the way that they did on Friday. Losing was not an option for the team. They wanted it so badly and as a coach, that’s all you can ever ask for—you just want them to want it as much as you do.”
Early on in the matches, Coppell boys doubles duo Arjun Nijasure and senior Sayon Nath defeated Highland Park’s Noah Perhirin and sophomore Pierce Collard, 6-1 and 6-0. According to Noonan, Nijasure and Nath fell to the Highland Park duo earlier in the season, so their unexpected victory provided the team an extra boost of momentum heading into the singles’ matches.
“They won a match that they were not favored to win, the other players were rated above them,” Noonan said. “But they pulled out a win and that was a really crucial match for us on the boys side.”
On the girls doubles side, Coppell sophomores Lexi Patton and Gabby Rice went into tiebreaker sets against Highland Park senior Ava Keating and junior Erica Zeitman, ultimately defeating the Scots, 7-6 (4).
Heading into singles, Highland Park held a 4-3 lead. However, Coppell won seven out of the eight singles matches, propelling it ahead to the 10-5 victory.
Now, with Highland Park in the rearview mirror, Coppell’s focus shifts to Flower Mound for the next round of playoffs.
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