You know you have a great tennis team when players from the same school are forced to battle it out for runner up. That happens quite a bit for the Dragons.
This year, like many years prior, the boys’ and girls’ teams won the 5-6A district championships. When asked if it was unusual for both teams to earn the district title, head coach Corey Aldridge says, “I don’t want to sound like I am tooting our own horn, but that’s not unheard of here. We’ve done that the last couple of years.”
From there, the team was able to qualify 11 players out of 16 possible spots for the Region 1 tournament at the Arlington Tennis Center in April. The Dragons dominated regionals, qualifying the most players in school history (eight) to compete at the state level.
Among these eight are Region 1 boys double champions Nick Ryniak and Gino French, mixed doubles champions Kelly Kunz and Drake Ferri, boys doubles runners-up Inesh Raju and Ryan Schmuhl and girls doubles runners-up Sam Lowe and Brennan Becicka.
We had the chance to catch up with two of the state-bound athletes to learn more about their journeys through tennis and their goals upon graduating this May.
Sam Lowe
It’s been a good year for Sam on doubles. She and her partner, Brennan, are the reigning 5-6A girls doubles champions and were runners-up in Region 1. Now, with a chance at a state title and graduation looming, Sam looks to close out her senior year Carroll Liaison with excellence. And though she has been prolific in doubles play lately, she says it was not always that way.
“I started out hating doubles,” she admits. “I didn’t like being near the net, it made me nervous and I was always scared someone would peg me. My sophomore year, I had to grow into it since we graduated a lot of girls. Coach Athens really helped me at the net, and now that’s really where I like to be on the court.”
Sam plays singles in the fall and doubles in the spring. Unlike a lot of high school sports, tennis doesn’t provide much of an offseason.
“We have a fall and spring season, so it gets very long,” Sam says. “It definitely starts to drain you after a while. You have to enjoy the team aspect of it and enjoy competing with everyone. That’s what keeps us motivated.”
Even though tennis has a more individualistic aspect than other team sports, Sam won’t talk about Dragon tennis without praising the camaraderie and support her peers provide. She recalls long matches with rain delays and everyone sticking through it to cheer each other on.
Some of her fondest memories with the team actually took place off of the court. During her freshman year, the upperclassmen would take their younger teammates out for coffee and other outings, something that Sam does now as a senior.
“That was my favorite part of freshman year and what I remember most vividly,” Sam says. “I wanted to try to replicate that for the underclassmen.”
It’s hard to imagine where she finds the time for social activities. When she isn’t at the net, Sam is studying hard and getting first-hand experience in the medical field through Carroll Medical Academy. Once again, hard work has paid off, as she is headed to Rice University this fall. She hopes to eventually become a surgeon or doctor.
With her sights set on such a challenging field of study, Sam says she didn’t even consider playing tennis at the collegiate level, though she may take a swing at intramurals. While her time as a Dragon is coming to a close, she is still excited for the team’s future, particularly with regard to her doubles partner.
“She’s so excited about everything and it’s all a new experience for her,” Sam says. “That’s why I love playing with Brennan because we click really well. Brennan is going to be a force next year, I’m really excited for her.”
Nick Ryniak
Nick’s childhood mirrored that of many Southlake kids: He played every sport imaginable.
“I was involved with basketball, baseball, football, soccer, you name it,” he says. “Tennis really stood out to me because of the individual aspect, and you dictate your own success.”
While he likes not having to fully rely on a large group of teammates, he says that he still enjoys the team aspect of Dragon tennis. That’s why he chose to join the high school team instead of playing club.
It has certainly worked out for him. He and his partner, Gino, are Region 1 doubles champions, and this won’t be his first appearance at the state championships. Last year, he and his partner, Dave Arman, advanced to the quarterfinals, but fell to a tough Houston Memorial duo.
Qualifying for state is no easy feat. Players compete at a regional level and only the top two from each category – boys singles, boys doubles, girls singles, girls doubles and mixed doubles – are given a spot in the state bracket. His freshman year, Nick missed out on advancing to state after he lost a regional match against his own teammate.
“It’s a little weird whenever you have to play against your teammates,” Nick says. “I ended up playing my partner Arman Dave in the finals, and he beat me and ended up winning state. He’s a great player and at MIT now.”
Now, Nick is hoping to make a substantial showing at state to close out his time as a Dragon. There is a month-long break between regionals and state, and Nick says that it can be easy to feel a bit burned out around that time of year. However, with the team’s impressive performance at the Region 1 tournament, there seems to be enough excitement to last through mid-May.
“We had a phenomenal experience at regionals,” Nick says. “We qualified eight for state, which is the most Southlake has ever done and is probably up there with most in the state. The most in my four years before that was four.”
After state, Nick still has plenty to look forward to. He has been accepted into the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Notre Dame. He’s deciding between the two, but regardless of where he goes, he intends to study aerospace and mechanical engineering. He’s currently working toward a private pilot license and recently had his first solo flight.
Somehow, between studying hard and logging hours in a plane, he has managed 208 wins in tennis. He holds Dragon Tennis’ all-time record, and he’s not done yet.
“The motivation to succeed and Carroll’s belief in protecting the tradition was kind of ingrained in me,” Nick says. “I just learned to stay motivated and use my time wisely.”