When facing Carroll Tennis, opponents quickly find out that doubles means trouble. The Dragons boys and girls doubles team have a penchant for taking it to their opponents, applying whatever strategies necessary to gain the upper hand.
"For the most part, we play really good doubles. That's a big part of what we do," Corey Aldridge says. "It's really important, because seven out of 19 matches are doubles matches. If you can do well on that right out of the gate, it gives you a lot of confidence."
Aldridge says that, on paper, the Dragons boys doubles might appear a little stronger, but the girls are nearly equal in ability. Against an imposing team like Plano West, they over-performed and kept Carroll in the Region I final match early on before the Dragons eventually lost.
With only three seniors in the starting lineup, as well as three freshmen on the team, the Dragons proved that the future is bright.
"We only had a couple senior girls in the lineup, and most of the boys were pretty young," Aldridge says. "It's good for them to get that experience at a young age and learn what it means to succeed."
SEASON RECAP
Carroll Tennis' goal of returning to the state tournament fell just short this fall, as the Dragons ran into a stacked Plano West team in the 6A Region I finals. The 10-4 loss kept Carroll from a second straight trip to state, but the team's finish was not indicative of the level of success the young group enjoyed throughout the season.
The Dragons' (12-3) only losses this past fall came at the hands of Allen (ranked No. 10 by the Texas Tennis Coaches Association) and twice to Plano West (ranked No. 2), the first coming in a warmup match prior to the playoffs.
"I thought we did pretty well considering we were in a pretty tough region," says Corey Aldridge, Carroll Tennis coach.
The Dragons — who finished ranked No. 11 in state by the TTCA — dominated in the early rounds of the playoffs, sweeping Euless Trinity 10-0 in bi-district, Midland 10-0 in area and giving up just one game in a 10-1 regional quarterfinal match with San Angelo Central. Carroll's matchup with Coppell in the regional semifinals was tighter, but the Dragons walked away with a 10-7 victory to set up their second meeting with Plano West.
"We were actually winning 4-3 after doubles," Aldridge says of the Plano West match. "But they are a little tougher on the singles courts."
Carroll was impressive in district play, winning 100 of 107 games. The Dragons also pulled off a 10-9 win over Highland Park, the No. 1-ranked 5A team that went on to win state, in a non-district match midway through the season.