Midland ISD sending 6 tennis players to regional tournament

Six Midland ISD tennis players punched their tickets to the Region I-6A tournament on Friday.

Midland High is sending both of its girls singles players as senior Marisa Stewart finished first and freshman Dalihee Rios Trifiro placed second during the 2026 District 2-6A Tennis Tournament in San Angelo.

Legacy advanced its boys doubles team of Andre Perez and Preston Crutchfield with its second-place finish, and its mixed doubles team of Cameron Newton and Kate Hendricks with its runner-up finish. All four Rebel tennis players are seniors, and Crutchfield, Newton and Hendricks will be first-time regional qualifiers.

The Region I-6A Tennis Tournament will be held on April 17-18 at the Courts of McKinney in McKinney.

Stewart beat Rios Trifiro, 6-1, 6-4, in the District 2-6A girls singles final featuring two Lady Bulldogs on Friday.

"It's hard playing your teammate in the final, but it makes it fun," Stewart said. "I have experience playing my sister (Sarah) my freshman year. On the court, I just acted like it was another opponent and not my teammate.

"Dalihee is a great player and knowing how she plays makes it easier to play for sure, but still those emotions of playing a teammate are there, she is a very consistent and tough player."

Stewart earned his third consecutive District 2-6A championship, while qualifying for the regional tournament for the fourth straight year.

Stewart will be vying for a return trip to the UIL state tournament at regionals after qualifying for the first time as a junior.

"I'm excited we will both represent Midland High and knowing it's my last year and Dalihee's first year makes it even more special," Stewart said.

After losing to Stewart, Rios Trifiro had to regroup and play San Angelo Central's Addison Koll in a playback match for the right to go to McKinney since the two were on the opposite ends of the semifinal bracket.

Rios Trifiro beat Koll, 6-1, 6-4, in the playback match to earn the second-place spot in girls singles.

"I knew it was an important moment, so I tried to stay calm and focus point by point," Rios Trifiro said. "Rather than thinking about the pressure, I focused on giving my best and trusting the work I have been doing. It was a challenge, but also motivation to compete with everything."

Perez and Crutchfield beat San Angelo Central's Brady Stewart and Delane Syler, 6-2, 6-0, in the playback match of boys doubles to earn a regional berth.

Perez and Crutchfield earned the playback opportunity by beating Legacy teammates Jakob Hurst and Bryson Powell, 6-1, 6-1, in Friday's third-place match.

"We were playing our teammates, so we were really just going to have fun and hope for the best when it came to the playback," Perez said. "We just had a lot of fun. That was basically our attitude going in."

Perez and Crutchfield weren't guaranteed a playback when they lost 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 to San Angelo Central's Trey Chavez and Carson Adams in a heartbreaking semifinal match on Thursday.

"If we're given a second chance, we're going to take it," Crutchfield said. "When we knew we were going to get a playback, we need to bring energy, we need to stay positive. Don't worry about yesterday. Focus on today and that's what ultimately led to our victory."

Perez will be heading to regionals for a fourth time, but the first time as a doubles player after he chose not to defend his District 2-6A boys singles titles from 2023-25.

"It's been a great season," Perez said. "It's been a lot of fun. Even if we did get third, I wouldn't have wanted to play singles anyway. This was a lot of fun, and I don't regret it at all."

Newton and Hendricks defeated Midland High's Joey Maldonado and Lorelei Parrish, 6-4, 6-1, in the playback match for a regional berth in mixed doubles.

Newton and Hendricks had to refocus after losing 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) to San Angelo Central's Cole Jones and Sofia Blankenship in the mixed doubles final on Friday.

"Our first match, we fought back but came up short," Hendricks said. "That just lit a fire under us to play even harder our second match because we wanted it really bad. We ended up winning.

"We both kept our emotions pretty calm and we knew what to do. We just played how we knew how to play and how we had trained."

Hendricks and Newton were fighting to keep their high school tennis careers going in the playback match as outgoing seniors.

"I'm really excited and I can't wait for the chance to go play in regionals and play tough opponents," Newton said. "I'm honestly really happy about my performance today and my partner's performance as well."

Parrish and Maldonado placed third in mixed doubles; Midland High's Jackson Earl defeated Odessa Permian's Athan Sanchez, 6-2, 6-3, in the boys singles third-place match; and Legacy's Cameron Ramsey and Railey Vickery lost in the playback after beating Frenship's Mia Adams and Emery Murray, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, in the girls doubles third-place match.

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