Trinity, Bell look to knock off top programs at tennis district meet

There’s an old saying in sports: “They still have to play the games.”

And though he acknowledges his Trinity Trojans and Lady Trojans will be underdogs in District 7-6A tennis this spring, Trinity coach Chris Yenne is anxious for his players to take to the court and see if they can prove the prognosticators wrong.

“Our last regional qualifier was in the spring of 2014, Jamison Inocando. It was his second straight year to qualify, and he graduated in 2014. As solid a player as he was, I don’t know if he would have made it in our current district,” Yenne said.

The district features some of the top talent in the state in Southlake Carroll, Coppell, Colleyville Heritage and Richland.

Top boys for Trinity include seniors Sikender Ashraf and Jarod Sivannarath, junior Alan Liao, and sophomore Nathan Mayer. Top girls include seniors Nicole Mayer and Tsheden Tshokey, and juniors Kaylee Crosier and Kendyl Rickard.

Nicole Mayer has led the girls for the previous three years, and has come close to reaching regionals. She was third at district last season, and only the top two advance to regionals.

“She will likely face the same two girls who beat her last year at this year’s tournament,” Yenne said. “However, taking third in our difficult district is a fantastic achievement.

“Nicole is still one to watch. She keeps getting better and better every year, and if the two top girls leave the door open for her even a crack, she’ll take advantage.

“We also have a strong mixed doubles team this year with Alan Liao and our No. 2 girl, Tsheden Tshokey. The righty-lefty duo should be a difficult team to take down.”

In fall team tennis, Trinity finished fifth in district behind the big four.

“I was very happy with our match results, and yet it reminded everyone once again of how hard we need to work to get results against our competition,” Yenne said.

And while he admits the reality is the favorites to advance to regionals wear Southlake green or Coppell red, he also uses that as a rally point for his athletes.

“They are going to fight till the final point,” Yenne said.

“Overall, I am very happy with our team. Most of my kids came to me with little or no tennis experience, and then they have to compete against kids that have been playing competitively from a very young age comparatively.

“We accept the challenge and rise to it.”

L.D. Bell has standout doubles team

Like their neighbors at Trinity, the Bell squad is hoping to pull off some surprises in tennis this spring.

Coach Stefanie Rivera’s team returns on the boys side sophomore Mitchell McName, senior Tarun Rajpurohit, senior David Xia, and sophomore Joseph Natvig. The girls return seniors Diana Carvajalino, Christina Armijo, Jenny Bacallao, Carolyn Caraway and Ibrianna Traylor, along with junior Taylor Jackson.

Carvajalino played mixed doubles last spring and made it to district semifinals. She went 3-3 as the top singles player and 5-1 as part of the No. 1 doubles team with Jackson.

“Their success this fall and two years of being partners will help them this spring,” Rivera said.

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Trinity, Bell look to knock off top programs at tennis district meet."