Senior Mariya Shkolnaya and junior Jolie Francis competed in regionals on April 18 and 19 in Waco and have qualified to play for state.  The state tournament will be held on May 15 in College Station.

The doubles partners have been practicing during 4th period to prepare for the challenge that they’re about to face.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Shkolnaya said.  “The competition at state is so intense and great and I really like the challenge.”

During the regionals tournament, there were a lot of emotions going through the players’ heads.

“Off the court was very fun because I got to hang out with my teammates who came to support, but also the waiting to go and play was so nerve-racking,” Francis said.  “Actually playing the matches was exhilarating because of the tough competition and playing with my good friend and partner, Mariya, is always a blast.”

Tennis coach James Dammann is very supportive of the competitors and thinks that they will go far in the tournament.

“Mariya and Jolie have been the top doubles team in our district for three years now,” Dammann said.  “They have defeated Westlake and Lake Travis’s best teams, advanced to regional semi finals, and now this year pushed through to state.  They are warriors on the court and role model students off the court.  I am very proud of both of them.”

Along with the two players that were competing, Junior Jamie Dammann and Freshman Gigi Francis got to tag along to support their fellow teammates.

“I enjoyed the fact that I got to watch my sister play and I had the chance to watch them to advance to state,” Gigi said.

Through all of the intense matches, the players relied on each other for confidence, support, and help.

“We were losing at first in a few of our matches, but my partner and I would simply talk everything out and continue to play the best we could,” Jolie said.  “And we would remain calm; being nervous never helps to win.”

In addition, they also needed a strong mentality to pull through.

“There were moments in the matches where I would get nervous, but most of the time I managed to maintain a ‘I have nothing to lose’ kind of mentality and just gave it all I got,” Shkolnaya said.

All of the dedication the players have put will allow them to move forward in the tournament and hopefully succeed in an overall win.

“Now that we are off to state validates for me all the hard work I’ve put in has finally payed off, and that’s an amazing feeling,” Jolie said.

The players are very excited to see what the competition has in store for them and it finally feels real that they are going to state.

“Beforehand, I didn’t want to get my hopes up about the possibility of going to state, so I just focused on playing my best,” Shkolnaya said.  “It was only when we placed that I really got excited about it.”