Wimberley High School’s Texan tennis made their way to San Antonio earlier this month to compete in their final tournament of the season at the University Interscholastic League’s 4A state championships.
The team was represented by Gwen Pierce and Sarah Cook playing girls doubles, Ella Malone in girls singles, and John Moore competing in boys singles.
Coach Kenneth Gustafson evaluated the state championships and his Texan players’ chances going into the tourney. “John was going to face a top flight player in the first round. Sarah and Gwen’s draw was even across the board,” he explained. “There wasn’t an easy out in any match. Ella drew a girl she faced last year in mixed doubles so she was familiar with her. We felt if she could withstand her opponent’s big shots, she had a good opportunity to move on.”
Cook and Pierce faced a first round match with the doubles team from Lindale, a powerhouse in tennis the past few years, taking participants in all but one of the five categories of play.
“It was frustrating playing them because of their good net presence. It made it hard for us to keep pushing back, but we felt if we kept pushing through the points, we could win some of the points and build momentum,” Cook said.
Pierce echoed her partner’s sentiments.
“Our match was tough,” she said. “We played against a pretty good team, and we went to deuce a lot of the games, so the match just didn’t really fall our way. Overall, it was really cool though, and I’m excited for next year.”
The girls would fall in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 to the bronze medal winning team. Gustafson touted the effort of his girls team and their day at the championships.
“We knew going into it that it was going to be a tough road for them. By far, theirs was the most even of all the fields — there weren’t any outliers in that entire draw — so it was just a lot of really solid tennis teams,” noted Gustafson. “We showed up, we hopped on the court, and could tell right away that we were going to see exactly what we were expecting. The girls did a great job of competing and playing the points.”
The attitude rolled over to the other girl on the Texan team: Malone. She had been at a state tournament before while playing mixed doubles and came back with the gold from 2021’s team tennis championship. Now a junior, Malone was alone on the court in singles play.
“Honestly, I’m really happy,” she reflected. “I chose singles because it allowed me to have a sense of individuality and work on my skills, bringing focus to my game. I think I was able to do that really well at state and, obviously, with the help of all my support system.”
“It was just really great to go out there and play free and go play my game, not putting a lot of pressure on myself,” Malone added. “I had a lot of fun.”
Malone faced a player from Bullard High School and showed up strong, defeating her opponent 6-0, 6-1.
“She was able to step on the court with a lot of confidence for her first round match, knowing her opponent. She played great tennis and made it through that round doing an amazing job,” said Gustafson.
Malone’s second round match featured a player from Canyon Randall High School, another strong team in division 4A. She entered the match with Malone having won a straight set match in the first round 6-2, 6-1.
Gustafson commented on the progress of the second round match.
“Ella battled like heck in the first set,” he said. “She looked really good, played really close tennis, and ended up losing 4-6. If you know tennis, you know those are razor thin margins.”
“She did an amazing job fighting there,” continued Gustafson. “The other girl had a little more confidence in the second set, and I think she felt that pressure come off a little bit, playing a bit more relaxed. Ella tightened up some, but not to the point where it affected her play. It was something she was going to have to battle her way out of, and she did her best. She ended up losing the second set 2-6 while playing some great tennis.”
“I struggled to be consistent and keep that patience that I had all season. I got impatient, missed a few shots and got a little frustrated. I think that’s a big reason why it didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” Malone shared.
Malone finishes her junior year as a bronze medalist, looking forward to next season and the opportunity to get back to the state tournament.
“As a junior — one of those girls was a senior, the other one we very strongly believe will not be playing high school tennis next year — Ella putting herself in a position to be among the best in the state is exciting,” said Gustafson. “She can come back next year with all the confidence in the world because she proved that she can hang toe-to-toe with the best of them. We can’t wait for next year.”
Senior John Moore finished his high school career at state for the third year in a row. A silver medalist in 2022 in boys doubles and a state championship in team tennis in the 2021–2022 season, Moore was on an unprecedented win streak headed into state, having dropped only three games total in the district and regional tournaments. The luck of the draw — or lack of it — pitted Moore against one of the toughest boys competitors in the first round as he faced Emilion Rodriguez of Lindale.
Gustafson expounded on the circumstances of Moore’s first round.
“We saw the draw and we knew that the first round was going to be a tough one,” he said. “Rodriguez and John were the best seeds in the whole thing which ended up frustrating us. John played against the best kid he’s probably played in his high school career and went toe-to-toe with him.”
Toe-to-toe… for three hours and twenty minutes.
“I mean, it was fun. I knew at the beginning of the year that making it to state was the goal and doing well was obviously the ultimate goal. It was fun to put in the work, fun to be there, and I enjoyed the entire experience,” Moore said.
“I mean, in the first round, I knew the guy,” he continued. “He was ranked pretty high, and I knew I was going to have a tough match. It ended up being the longest match I’ve ever played at three hours and 20 minutes of court time — which is a long time and wears on the body.”
Moore was nervous for the beginning of the match as he explained he usually feels anxious in the build up prior to play. As he got into the match, Moore relaxed and earned a service break to take the first set 7-5.
“John had a chance to close it out in the second set, but it just got away from him. We talked at the end of the second, and he said he could see a light switch flip for his opponent. The other kid was incredible — a really great player. He took the second set 6-3,” explained Gustafson. “John ended up coming back in the third set, got it to a tie, then won the tie break 7-2. In my opinion, it was the best match he’s had in his career for a UIL event… unbelievable tennis.”
Moore had 90 minutes to recuperate and rest before his second round match. Though loaded with electrolytes, fluids, food and treatment, Moore came out exhausted and was unable to generate the game he needed to move on to the finals.
“That entire last match with John, we didn’t even talk about tennis, we just talked about all the work that he put in to get to this point,” Gustafson reflected. “He gets a couple minutes into warm up, and we can tell it’s gonna be really tough. He gave him a heck of a run — even though he was basically on one leg for most of that match.”
“[I was] just watching balls go by that I’ve never seen him let pass before because he physically couldn’t get there,” he added. “Forehands were really difficult because he didn’t have his legs underneath him. He was all out of gas, so he ended up losing the first set 4-6.”
A number of Moore’s teammates from the previous boys championship teams showed up in support. Moore rallied, battling with all his remaining effort, but wasn’t able to overcome the physical deficit from his earlier match, falling in the second 5-7.
“I think he gave the last of what he had right there when the guys showed up but was just spent,” confessed Gustafson. “We were all fortunate to watch his unbelievable journey.”
Moore admitted being worn out but smiled recalling one shot of the match.
“I mean, I won a point with a tweener — which is always fun to do when you hit the ball between your legs and win the point,” he said. “I really enjoyed doing that.”
Coach Gustafson received the National Federation of High School Associations’ 2022 Boys Tennis Coach of the Year Award while at the tournament. While countering that such an award is a “program” award and expressing his gratitude, he gave credit to assistant coaches Michael Coffman, Cade Pharis and Ramez Antoun and ultimately to the students it was his “great honor” to befriend, mentor, and coach.
“When I got here and looked around, I told these other coaches that there’s something special about the Wimberley Texan kids. You don’t see it anywhere else — you really don’t,” Gustafson recalled. “I’ve got plenty of years experience in other places, but there’s something special about the way these kids fight. They don’t give up … I feel very lucky.”
The Texans lose Moore as he graduates mid-May and moves on to college. Cook, a junior graduating early, will also be a loss for next year’s team. Each provided crucial leadership to a young team, but both expressed their confidence in the program and its leadership.
“I think they’ve improved a lot, and hopefully, they take away something from the last few years. They’ll work hard and keep getting better. I think they’re very talented,” said Moore.
“The team and coaches have had a huge impact on me. I’ve built a lot of important relationships in my life with them. There’s a lot of growth from just being on this team and being around the coaches and our community,” said Cook.
