In its third district match, the Coppell tennis team came out with a victory over Lewisville at the CHS Tennis Center on Tuesday. Coppell won, 18-1, and now have a perfect 3-0 district record. 

“We’re a stronger team than Lewisville, but they do have some good players at the top of their lineup,” Coppell coach Rich Foster said. “When you go into a match with kids knowing or thinking they’re the better player, sometimes, it’s hard to keep focus. Our kids did an excellent job of maintaining focus and taking care of business that needed to be taken care of.” 

The only Lewisville match win came in girls singles. 

As the tennis team continues to test out new combinations and line orders, players have the opportunity for new experiences. For example, Coppell freshman Lindsay Patton and New Tech High @ Coppell senior Sofia Sanchez, who partner for girls doubles matches, played line one for the first time in their careers. 

Line one is the term for the best doubles team. Patton and Sanchez were able to challenge the previous line one partners Coppell seniors Aishwarya Kannan and Ruchika Khowala and won the challenge. Despite the age difference between Patton and Sanchez, they have a close relationship. 

“[Sanchez] treats me like we’re the same, and she really helps me with school,” Patton said. “She’s always there for me, so it’s always nice to have a teammate that supports you.” 

Patton, in her first year of high school tennis, has made an impression on her coaches. 

“I’m excited to get any kind of young talent in here,” Foster said. “She’s a fireball. She’s got energy, she’s confident. You don’t always see that with freshman players. I love to see her on court, she’s just a phenomenal sparkplug.”

Now midway through the district schedule, Coppell can focus on fine-tuning their game. 

“We’re going to work on our mentality and work on what we lacked in this week,” Sanchez said. “Doubles wise, that’s putting volleys away. And then for singles, just being more consistent. I felt like at some points, I was really good at consistency, but at others, it lacked. It’s just keeping it throughout the match.”

For the next match, which is non-district, there is still time for experimenting with player combinations. 

“The main focus right now is trying to come up with a good mixed doubles combination,” Foster said. “The kids who played tonight did very well. Everything else is pretty solidified, we know what our boys’ doubles lineup is going to look like, for the most part, we know what our girls’ doubles lineup is going to look like, our singles are taken care of. Our focus for the next match is exactly what we’re going to do with our mixed doubles line.” 

Coppell plays Plano West at the CHS Tennis Center on Friday at 4 p.m. 

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