Two Redhawk athletes, sophomores Milla Dopson and Sanjheev Rao compete in the Texas UIL 5A mixed doubles state competition Thursday against a team from Georgetown at 8:00 a.m. in San Antonio at the Northside Tennis Center.

Although the season started with some uncertainty, the team did not back down and fought through their early losses.

“We always try to fight hard, and support one another,” Milla Dopson said. “Even after a few losses this season, our team picked it back up and dominated.”

Tennis coach Brandon Justiss is proud of the efforts from his team this year and their inability to give up.

“The team competed and really played well,” Justiss said. “We have a team that wants to get better and players that want to compete.”

Tennis head coach Erica Dopson believes that much of her team’s persistence came from their hunger to succeed on a new team.

“Our biggest strengths are our determination and fight,” Erica Dopson said. “Many of our players were new to Varsity competition so this is a great learning experience.”

Rao is eager for the thrill of competition and looks to see this past season’s efforts pay off.

“It’s extremely important to be balanced and have a constant hunger to win without losing yourself to the negativity that comes with fighting alone,” Rao said. “However, nothing compares to putting in the hard work and focused time and watching it pay off in competition.”