WACO - Robert E. Lee junior Peyton Drain and mixed doubles team Claire Fisher and Sam Hollis won the first-round matches Monday on the first day of competition at the Class 6A Region II tennis tournament at the Baylor University Tennis Center.
Drain got past Caleb Reid of Montgomery in a three-set match with Drain winning, 6-0, 2-6, 6-1. That pushed the District 11-6A champion into the quarterfinals against Nico Moceanu of The Woodlands College Park. Moceanu was the No. 1 seed in boys singles and proved too much for Drain in a straight set loss, 6-0, 6-2.
Lee facing the top seeded players was a theme on Monday as three of REL’s six regional qualifiers faced the No. 1 seed in their first match. The two who advanced to the quarterfinals - Drain and Fisher/Hollis - were matched up against the No. 1 seed in their quarterfinal.
The ultimate result was the Red Raiders not making it past Day 1.
“I am proud of all of them, and for our area we had a great year,” Lee coach Ronnie Blake said. “I only hope that we learn from this trip and improve, work to get better and come back stronger next year.”
Fisher and Hollis’ lone mixed doubles loss this year came to a team from Klein. As fate would have it, the duo was matched up against an opponent from Klein, but this time fared much better, defeating Foreman/Henderson in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.
The victory moved Fisher and Hollis into the quarterfinals against Quinn/Carter of Highland Park. This proved to be a bridge too far for Fisher and Hollis with the duo falling in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.
Lee’s boys doubles qualifiers, Will Shelton and Sam Leguizamo, were matched up against top-seeded Kissee/Frost of Dallas Jesuit in the first round and were put out in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1.
In girls singles, Lee’s Avery Riley was matched against top-seed Melissa Vizcardo of The Woodlands and she lost in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1. Lee’s Griselle Esparza, the District 11-6A champion, avoided the top seed in her first match and was the lone REL player to not face a No. 1 seed on the day, but shared a similar fate, falling in straight sets to Ashly Penshom of Montgomery, 6-2, 6-0.
The semifinals and championship matches are scheduled for Tuesday. The top two finishers in girls and boys singles, girls and boys doubles and mixed doubled advance to the state tournament.