Finish in the top two, and it’s on to state. Finish outside the top two, and the season is over.

That’s the scenario facing a few Redhawks when they return to the court Tuesday and Wednesday at the Z Plex Center in Melissa for the 5A Region II tennis tournament.

Playing mixed doubles are juniors Milla Dopson and Sanjheev Rao, while freshman Hailey Zhang is playing singles.

“Our goal is to win and get both players to state,” head coach Erica Dopson said. “Milla and Sanjheev have specifically been working on being aggressive at the baseline and net.”

Looking to improve on her weakest points, Zhang is confident in her ability to help the team advance.

“I’m expecting to make it to semis or even the finals,” Zhang said. “The most difficult part has probably been my semis match during districts. I’ve been working on staying more consistent and getting my forehand to be more aggressive.”

For Sanjheev Rao, being aggressive and consistent could lead to a win in this tournament and a bid to the state tournament.

“We are the two seed so we’re hoping to pull an upset off in the finals when we get there, we have been working on a lot of aggressive doubles plays and poaching and attacking the ball,” Rao said. “It’s been challenging getting more practice, we had only a few tournaments early in the season but after we got the practice in and the flow we started playing much better.”

Focusing on being offensive instead of defensive will be a key component in this tournament according to Milla Dopson. 

“We have been preparing for this tournament by trying to stay consistent,” Milla Dopson said. “We want to work on closing the net more so we can be offensive instead of defensive.”

Updated at 9:45 p.m. to correct the status of freshman Hailey Zhang who was incorrectly reported as being injured.