Midland High's Stewart qualifies again for UIL tennis state tourney

Midland High senior Marisa Stewart handled adversity well in her fourth and final trip to the Region I-6A Tennis Tournament.

Stewart's morning semifinal match with a UIL state tournament berth at stake was delayed until mid-afternoon on Saturday due to daytime showers in McKinney.

After the long wait, Stewart took care of business on the tennis court by beating Prosper's Hasya Gail, 6-1, 7-6 (7-2), in the semifinals of girls singles at the Courts of McKinney.

Stewart earned her second straight trip to the UIL state tournament with the semifinal win and she ended up placing second in girls singles after losing 6-2, 6-1 to El Paso Coronado's Makenzie Baptist in the final.

Stewart moves on to the UIL Class 6A Tennis State Tournament, May 7-8 in San Antonio, where she reached the quarterfinals of the 2025 state tournament.

Stewart spent several hours just waiting to get on the court for her semifinal match against Gail as rain fell in McKinney.

"Throughout the day while the courts were drying, I just tried to stay super calm and focused," Stewart said. "I kept reminding myself I had an important match to be played and not let the weather affect me."

Stewart had to battle against Gail in the second set as her opponent took her to a few set points.

Midland High tennis coach Shelby Greene said Stewart was able to fend off the set points and get it to a tiebreaker when she's rolled on her way to match point.

"I tried to stay super calm and make as many balls as possible," Stewart said. "I moved her side to side and just tired to be really consistent and not let myself get nervous. My coaches and teammates were also very positive the whole time and that also was a big factor."

Stewart's veteran savvy showed on Saturday.

"I definitely saw veteran experience from her because she's been here before, she knew what she had to do," Greene said. "All season even when she gets down, you never really know if she's upset or not about where she is because she keeps it together so well. She stays calm in those big moments and rises to the occasion. When things got tight, she stayed calm, cool and collected. She followed the game plan and did what she had to do to win."

Stewart also beat Keller Timber Creek's Arden Levy, 6-2, 6-1, in the first round match on Friday and she followed with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Flower Mound's Lillien George in the quarterfinals.

"My forehand is what I feel most confident in this senior year, I use that as my power shot to set up points," Stewart said. "This senior year has been so fun, and I am very excited to see what the state tournament holds."

Midland High freshman Dalihee Rios Trifiro lost 6-0, 6-1 to Coppell's Varsha Sivaprasad in a first-round match of girls singles on Friday.

Legacy seniors Andre Perez and Preston Crutchfield lost 6-2, 6-0 to Southlake Carroll's Andrew Whitehead and Danil Kazadov in the first round of boys doubles on Friday.

Legacy seniors Cameron Newton and Kate Hendricks fell 6-1, 6-1 to Plano West's Taku Coulston and June Kim in the first round of mixed doubles Friday.

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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 11:53 AM.