By Butch Hart | FOR THE A-J

So close. Lubbock Coronado team tennis was agonizingly close to a trip to the state team tennis finals but Houston Klein edged the Mustangs 10-9 in the UIL state Team Tennis class 5A semifinals at Lakeway World of Tennis in Austin.

“Just getting her is like being on cloud Nine, we had to do everything right and a missed point here and there ultimately meant the difference between winning and losing,” said Coronado coach David Denham.

The Mustangs led 6-1 using strong doubles play by the three sets of Mustangs girls doubles and the mixed doubles team. Mary Alice Blacketer and Whitney Wofford played number one doubles and beat Kim Anicete and Micah Hermsdorf 7-6 (7-4), 1-6 and 6-2.

Second doubles were Nadia Tello and Hayden Turner (who beat Princess Gbadamosi and Kaysie Hermsdorf 6-3, 6-2 then Karly Garland and Alex Siegel beat Precious Gbadamosi and Emily Olivier (Klein) 6-3, 6-2. The Mustangs Mixed doubles pair of J.B. Moss and Emily Anderson trimmed Charles Lin and Margaret Santucci 7-5, 6-3.

“We really played well early and seemed like we were hitting the ball great and we were on our game early,” said Emily Anderson.

The Mustangs opened the lead to 6-1 before the Bearcats started chipping away and closed it down to the final girls singles match as the ultimate tie breaker.

Michael Morris won by beating Gandhi Bhakthavachalam 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 and Ian McDonald beat Dimitar Komov 6-3, 7-5 for the only boys singles wins while only Karly Garland managed a girls singles win as she beat Kaysie Hermsdorf of Klein 6-4, 7-5.

“We were so close,” said Denham of the 2003 state champions, “We just missed in several matches where we had our chances, but they were a good team.”

In the other semi final, two time defending state champion New Braunfels dominated Houston Memorial 15-4. The Unicorns, winner of 5A in 2008 and 4A in 2007 extended their unbeaten win streak to 74 matches and will meet Klein.

The victory came as a near surprise for Klein as they rallied from that 6-1 deficit to shock Lubbock Coronado when sixth girls player Emily Olivier won 6-1, 7-5 to claim her match and earn the deciding tenth team point for Coronado.

“Down 6-1, I didn’t think we had a chance but the boys played well and we got back into it then when we closed to 5-8 and had our girls singles to go I thought we could win and Emily really came through,” said Klein coach Holly Cannon.

Class 5A

Klein (27-1) 10 Lubbock Coronado (27-4) 9

Boys Singles

Michael Morris (Lubbock Coronado) def. Gandhi Bhakthavachalam (Klein) 7-6 (1), 6-3; Rasaki Gbadamosi (Klein) def. Ben Jordan (Lubbock Coronado) 7-6 (4) 6-3; Shrinath Kadamangudi (Klein) def. Jackson Schmidt (Lubbock Coronado) 6-3, 6-3; Charles Lin (Klein) def. Blake Melcher (Lubbock Coronado) 6-3, 6-1; Ian McDonald (Lubbock Coronado) def. Dimitar Komov (Klein)6-3, 7-5; Connor Kudrick (Klein) def. J.B. Moss (Lubbock Coronado) 6-2, 7-5.

Girls Singles

Kim Anicete (Klein) def. Whitney Wofford (Lubbock Coronado) 7-5, 6-4; Micah Hermsdorf (Klein) def. Mary Alice Blacketer (Lubbock Coronado) 6-0, 6-0; Precious Gbadamosi (Klein) def. Nadia Tello (Lubbock Coronado) 7-6 (2), 6-4; Princess Gbadamosi (Klein) def. Alex Siegel (Lubbock Coronado) 6-4, 7-5; Karly Garland (:Lubbock Coronado) def. Kaysie Hermsdorf (Klein) 6-4, 7-5; Emily Olivier (Klein) def. Hayden Turner (Lubbock Coronado) 6-1, 7-5.

Boys Doubles

Ben Jordan and Michael Morris (Lubbock Coronado) def. Gandhi Bhakthavachalam and Connor Kudrick (Klein) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1; Rasaki Gbadamosi Shrinath Kadamangudi and (Klein) def. Ian McDonald and Jackson Schmidt (Lubbock Coronado) 6-2, 6-3; Chris Moss and Blake Melcher (Lubbock Coronado) def. Zeeshan Siddiqi and Luke Nguyen (Klein) 6-2, 6-4.

Girls Doubles: Mary Alice Blacketer and Whitney Wofford (Lubbock Coronado) def. Kim Anicete and Micah Hermsdorf (Klein) 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-2; Nadia Tello and Hayden Turner(Lubbock Coronado) def. Princess Gbadamosi and Kaysie Hermsdorf (Klein) 6-3, 6-2; Karly Garland and Alex Siegel (Lubbock Coronado) def. Precious Gbadamosi and Emily Olivier (Klein) 6-3, 6-2.

Mixed Doubles

J.B. Moss and Emily Anderson (Lubbock Coronado) def. Charles Lin and Margaret Santucci (Klein) 7-5, 6-3.