Senior Fernanda Contreras wins tennis State Championship

Senior Fernanda Contreras rallys with her teammate during a practice game on April 13. After winning the Girls Singles Champion, Fernanda won the UIL Girls singles State Tournament on May 14.
Senior Fernanda Contreras rallys with her teammate during a practice game on April 13. After winning the Girls Singles Champion, Fernanda won the UIL Girls singles State Tournament on May 14.

For the second year in a row, senior Fernanda Contreras came home with a State Champion in 6A tennis. Her victory this year in girls singles follows her 2014 first place finish in mixed doubles.

“I was super excited to win State again,” Fernanda said. “It was a lot of training and a lot of trying to get my nerves in place. The competition at State is really intense so you don’t have a lot of wiggle room for errors. If you lose, you’re done. There are no second chances. That was really nerve racking.”

Senior Julian Sweeney and his brother sophomore Marcus Sweeney left State as Quarterfinalists after losing 4-6, 0-6 to the eventual State Champions. Senior Charles Tan breezed into the finals, but lost a tough match 2-6, 4-6. Fernanda became the 6A State Champion after crushing her opponent Marlee Zein from Fort Bend Dulles, 6-3, 6-1.

“During my last match on Thursday it started to sprinkle a little in the second set,” Fernanda said. “Luckily the rain stopped, and we were able to finish the match. The other girl played really well, but I ended up having the better day.”

The State Tournament in College Station faced many delays due to the rain. Play was postponed numerous times, and the tournament had to be extended an additional day.

“This was the longest State of my life,” Fernanda said. “There was a 12-hour rain delay on the first day, so I had to wait around from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to see when the courts were going to be OK. I didn’t take the court until 9 p.m. I knew how to beat her, so it went pretty fast. I have a friend who didn’t take the court until 2 a.m. and her match wasn’t finished until 4 a.m., and she had to wake up and be back at the courts by 8 a.m. the next day.

However, the rain did not affect Fernanda’s performance, and she took home her second State Title.

“I had a lot more time between matches because of the rain,” Fernanda said. “I didn’t have to play them right in a row, so I had a lot of rest. It was awesome to finish on a win. Just knowing that I could do it is a great self accomplishment. I pictured myself losing and what it would be like so I could play with all the possibilities. I was open to whatever happened. This really helped me. A lot of people’s performances are based on that day, so I was lucky I was able to have a good day and play well.”

Fernanda will play tennis at Vanderbilt next year.