The varsity tennis team will play their first ever regional quarterfinal match in class 5A on Monday. The team made school history Thursday after they beat Ennis, the tenth ranked team in the region, in their area match which sent them to regionals.

“It feels amazing,” head coach Randal Nammany said. “I cannot tell you how proud I am of my players and assistant coach Derrick Rogers. They played their hearts out. [It] feels awesome.”

The tennis team will play Kaufman in Corsicana at 3 pm Monday.

“I started on the varsity team at the beginning of the school year,” junior Stephen Walker said. “Now that I am traveling with the varsity I get to see how much work it really takes to be at the top. I am excited for regionals and have high hopes for our team.”

Practice for this season began on August 1. On their way to going 4-1 in district and beating Jacksonville 10-1 in bi-district before winning 10-6 over Ennis at area, the team had to overcome some obstacles along the way.

“There has been a lot that this team has gone through,” Nammany said. “We have had players quit; we have battled injuries and also a teammate has lost a loved one that hit the whole team pretty hard. They are truly the definition of resilient.”

As with other sports, the tournament is in a bracket format. For each match won, the team receives one point, and the first team to ten points wins.

“This year has been different from previous years because the team supports and encourages each other more than past years,” senior Faith Rogers said. “We want to succeed in every match because of the respect we have for each other. The fight we have is for the team rather than individual success.”

If the team wins the regional quarterfinal game Monday, they will advance to the regional semifinals. After that, there is the regional finals, followed by the state tournament.

“Advancing to the regional tournament is beyond words,” Rogers said. “Making school history is something I will never forget, and being a senior just makes it that much better.”