Tennis knocks competition over the net
April 14, 2022
Last year, juniors Milla Dopson and Sanjheev Rao were the only two athletes representing the Redhawks at state. However, this year, the pair is joined by freshman Hailey Zhang.
Counting down the last 5 days of school, Wingspan looks at the top sports moments of the year. Coming in at #2, the Redhawk tennis team wins the UIL State Tennis Tournament for the second year in a row with the mixed doubles team winning the title; the first mixed doubles title in Frisco ISD history.
Redhawks tennis soared at the 5A Region II Tournament Tuesday and Wednesday in Melissa when juniors Milla Dopson and Sanjheev Rao placed first in mixed doubles with freshman Hailey Zhang taking the championship in girls’ singles.
“They played so strong, and they fought hard with the windy conditions,” head coach Erica Dopson said. “We are so proud of them.”
Sending three players to state is a testament for the Redhawks tennis program according to Milla Dopson.
“It’s really a big deal for Liberty and we’ve been preparing for this for a really long time and really excited to see what we can do,” she said. “I played in state last year and I got third and I am really excited to see if I can do better.”
Practice matches leading up to the regional tournament helped prepare Dopson and Rao.
“We won our first three matches on Tuesday, and then we came out on Wednesday. There was a rain delay for the first couple hours and then we had a good volume warm up and then the match started,” Rao said. “We had three or four practice matches, and the week heading up to the regional tournament. We played against some six eight teams, some five other teams and really got us working together and playing the match.”
For freshman Hailey Zhang, winning regionals and qualifying for state in her first year of high school is an accomplishment.
“I’m proud of myself for making it to state, since I’m a freshman,” Zhang said. “I think it’ll be a really good opportunity. I’m really excited to play actually, even though I know there’s gonna be a lot of other good players too.”
