FW Paschal juniors upset No. 1 team in regional final, go for state tennis gold
Shauna Galvin and Emily Buell, who continue to etch their names in Fort Worth Paschal history, attempt to bring the past three years together with gold at the UIL state tennis tournament on Thursday.
Galvin and Buell, both juniors, will take on Bailey Goodwin and Kyndall Quiroz from San Antonio Reagan at 11:30 a.m. in the 6A girls doubles quarterfinals at Texas A&M.
“The goal of state has been an overall goal this year,” coach Rhonda Psencik said. “Once we made it into the regional finals, it was becoming more apparent that this could and hopefully would become reality.”
Galvin and Buell won the 6A Region I final by upsetting No. 1 Plano West 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
“I have to say the initial feeling was relief,” Galvin said. “Emily and I are glad we were able to pull out the win and clinch regional this year, as opposed to getting second last year.”
The pair won the District 4-6A title and earned second at the regional tournament last season before taking home the bronze medal at state. They beat the team from Austin Bowie, 7-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals, but were eliminated in the semifinals by the 6A state runner-up from Cypress Falls, 4-6, 6-4, 2-6.
“Shauna and Emily are more focused and driven,” Psencik said. “They’ve put in more time training and conditioning together and individually.”
“The biggest thing that’s going to help Shauna and I take home the gold is our hard work and keeping good attitudes on the court,” Buell added. “We’re going to play as hard as we can and try to enjoy ourselves.”
They are undefeated this season and are 65-2 in the past two seasons.
“Shauna and I have grown a lot closer over the years,” Buell said. “We spend a lot of time on court playing in matches or just practicing together. We have a really good understanding on the court with each other.”
As a freshman, Galvin became the first girl from Paschal to reach the state singles tourney since Angela Bartzen in 1976.
Galvin finished third, but upset the No. 1 player Melissa Vizcardo of Conroe The Woodlands 6-1, 6-3 in the state quarterfinals. She would fall to the eventual 6A state champion, Sammi Gillas of New Braunfels, 2-6, 4-6 in the semifinals.
Galvin, who's committed to Elon University in North Carolina, finished 39-1 that spring and qualified for state after upsetting No. 1 Marjorie Antohi, a senior from El Paso Coronado, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the Region I final.
She went undefeated in girls singles and doubles, going the entire season without giving up a single game in girls singles during the fall season of her freshman year. The Panthers had qualified for area in team tennis for the first time in more than a decade.
“Going to state for the third year in a row is so exciting,” Galvin said. “State is the goal every year so to reach it is something I’m proud of. Emily and I always have a good time on the court and try to make every situation as enjoyable as it can be, so it’s really easy for us to compete together as a team.”
Fort Worth-area teams
3A Boys doubles
Rayce Mitchell and Zach Kursteiner, Brock, 10:30 a.m. Thursday
3A Girls doubles
Macie Dehnsich and Kylee Laverty, Brock, Noon Thursday
5A Girls singles
Reilly Cleff, Grapevine, 9 a.m. Thursday
6A Boys singles
Riley Tran, Keller, 8 a.m. Thursday
6A Boys doubles
Arman Dave and Nick Ryniak, Southlake Carroll, 10 a.m. Thursday
6A Mixed doubles
Chris Lash and Taylor Reusche, Southlake Carroll, 12:30 p.m. Thursday
This story was originally published May 16, 2018 at 5:18 PM with the headline "FW Paschal juniors upset No. 1 team in regional final, go for state tennis gold."