Wylie’s Anaar Ramolia, left, and Christine Tykoski, right, celebrate after winning a game against Harker Heights. Photo courtesy MJ Tykoski
By David Wolman
The Class 6A team tennis playoffs began last week, and it was business as usual for Wylie.
The Pirates opened the postseason with a dominant 10-3 win over Rockwall-Heath in the bi-district round.
Wylie traveled to Waco last Thursday for a showdown against Harker Heights, and it was all Pirates. Wylie cruised to a 10-0 victory at Waco Midway High School.
Snehitha Kommera ignited a dominant outing for Wylie with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Harker Heights’ Madison Walker at girls No. 4 singles. Lola Claire Smith earned a 6-1, 6-1 victory at the No. 2 line, while Kyle Fain started strong before closing out a 6-0, 6-4 win over Xavier Tilmon at boys No. 4 singles.
In mixed doubles, Hollyann Gibson and Ryan Han rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 win over Walker Gilchrist and Aerith Mills.
Wylie went 3-0 on the day in boys doubles. Kushal Sheth and Brandon Wallace won 6-4, 6-3 at the No. 1 line. Fain and Elliot Halpin overcame a tough challenge to earn a 7-5, 6-1 victory at the No. 2 line, while Dylan Belshaw and Renner To notched a 6-4, 6-3 win at the No. 3 line.
The Lady Pirates were just as dominant, sweeping all three girls doubles matches. Anvitha Kommer and Vaishali Kumar earned a commanding 6-1, 6-0 win over Harker Heights’ Aashia Patel and Leilani Coulston at the No. 1 line. Smith and Snehitha Kommera had a 6-4, 6-0 win at the No. 2 line, while Anaar Ramolia and Christine Tykoski posted a 6-0, 6-0 shutout at the No. 3 line.
“Really solid effort,” said Wylie head coach Andy Cariens. “Harker Heights made us work for it, and it really allowed us to work on some things we needed to for the next week. Overall, everyone remained focused on their court and executed their game plans.”
Wylie advances to face Tyler Legacy in a rematch of last year’s playoff, which the Raiders won 10-6. The third-round playoff match between the Pirates and Raiders will be played at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Sulphur Springs.
“Hopefully the fourth time is the charm,” Cariens said. “We played them last year and lost 10-6. We had a lot of close matches, and we have a lot of returners who are fired up to get over that hump and make history for the tennis program.
“It’s been great to watch the program grow over the past 10 years. We are now able to compete with the best in the state.”
Wylie East fell 10-2 to Longview in the bi-district round Oct. 16 at Wills Point.
Tai Stamps contributed to both of the Raiders’ wins, earning a 6-3, 6-3 victory in boys singles and teaming with Furqaan Mohammed for another 6-3, 6-3 win in boys doubles.
The Raiders finished the regular season second in District 9-6A.
Meanwhile, Sachse struggled in a 19-0 bi-district loss to Rockwall. The Mustangs made the playoffs as the third seed from District 9-6A after narrowly missing the playoffs a year ago.
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