Tennis springs into new season

The varsity tennis team began their district season last Saturday in Vernon, Texas.

The Eagles faced Burkburnett Saturday morning and defeated them 13-6. They battled the Vernon Lions that afternoon and snuck out a win, 10-9.

“Those were two big wins for us,” Coach Aaron Fuller said.

Canyon will travel to Texas Tech this Saturday to play Abilene Wylie.

Varsity tennis team looks ahead to individual spring season

The varsity tennis team traveled to Wichita Falls on Oct. 27 for the regional tournament. They were unranked as they faced their first round opponents Friday morning.

“We lost the fourth seed to a team with a lower state rank and worse district record than ours,” head coach Aaron Fuller said. “Don’t know how that happened, but we didn’t let it affect us.”

The eagles faced Granbury High School in the first round, defeating them 10-0.

“We dominated Granbury,  plain and simple,” Fuller said.

Canyon faced Wichita Falls Old High in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon. They fought hard, but were defeated by the Coyotes, 1-10.

“We battled very hard against Old High,” Fuller said. “They were just better than us.”

Old High fell to Wichita Falls Rider in the finals on Saturday afternoon, 8-11.  

The tennis team will prepare for their individual season in the spring as they move to off season.

Undefeated varsity tennis advances to regionals

The varsity tennis team completed their fall district season undefeated after beating the Dumas Demons 12-7 and the Palo Duro Dons 18-1 last Saturday.

The team will head to Wichita Falls this Thursday at 9:30 a.m. and head coach Aaron Fuller will attend the coaches meeting that night at 8 p.m. to determine their rank at the regional tournament.

“It is important that we’re seeded one through four,” Fuller said. “If we aren’t we could play some of our toughest competition early on in the tournament.”

With last year’s fall season resulting in a semifinal loss to Wichita Falls Old High for the second consecutive year, the team said they feel prepared and confident going into this year’s tournament.

“We played Old High on Aug. 20 and lost 5-14, but I think we’ve worked really hard since then,” Fuller said. “Playing them early on in our season showed us what we needed to focus on, and I feel we have improved. We’re ready to go down there and compete.”

Unbeaten team tennis strives towards region

The varsity tennis team continued their winning streak with two victories over Frendship 15-4, and Plainview 19-0 at home Oct. 8.

Defending their district championship title from last year, they have a current district record of 203 matches won to 28 matches lost.  They are currently ranked 14^th in the state.

“We’ve had a very successful fall season so far,” Coach Aaron Fuller said. “Our true test will be when we go down to Wichita Falls for regionals.”

After finishing last year undefeated in district and losing in the semifinals at regionals to Wichita Falls Old High, the team has an optimistic outlook on regionals this year.

 “We have a really good chance at winning regionals this year, seeing how our rival teams are weaker than usual,” senior Travis Gilliland said. “I think if we all go in with a positive attitude of winning, regardless of the past, we really can go to state.”

They wrap up their district season at home against Dumas at 9 a.m. and Palo Duro at 3 p.m. this Saturday. They will head to Wichita Falls Oct. 28 and 29 for team regionals.

Tennis team takes on regional opponents

With a tough, out-of-district start to their season, the tennis team began this year in Lubbock.  August 8, after being defeated by Lubbock High, they battled back to beat Lubbock Monterey 16-3.

They moved on to Wichita Falls Aug. 20 to play their regional rivals. They battled hard but fell short to Wichita Falls Rider 5-14. After losing to Wichita Falls Old High in the semifinals last year at team regionals, Canyon was looking for revenge. The final score was 4-15, the most matches Canyon has ever won against Old High.

The first week of school brought the Eagles competition all the way from El Paso.  Friday morning Canyon defeated El Paso Jefferson 18-1 and dominated El Paso Austin 19-0.

Saturday morning Canyon was up against the Vernon Lions in the Amarillo High Quad Tournament.  The Eagles came out on top, 13-6.  Canyon’s next opponents, the Amarillo High Sandies, were ready after defeating Dumas that morning. Canyon was down 3-4 after doubles and couldn’t come back. The final score was 11-8, in favor of the Sandies.

The tennis team’s first district doubleheader will be Sept. 10 at home vs. Caprock and Randall.

Aaron Fuller named ‘Coach of the Year’

Tennis coach Aaron Fuller was recently named Coach of the Year after one year of coaching at Canyon.

The Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame chose Fuller as the tennis coach of the year in their 53^rd year of recognizing coaches of all athletic events in the area. Fuller teaches both the varsity and junior varsity tennis teams and instructs the junior high tennis class.

“He’s excited to be here, and he’s excited about tennis,” junior Abigail Strickland said. “He is very motivational, makes us work really hard, and is very smart about what he’s doing with the team.”

This year is Fuller’s eleventh year of coaching, though he has only been at Canyon one year. He said his ultimate goal for the team is to win a state championship.

“We still have a pretty ‘small school’ mentality,” Fuller said. “I hope someday it’s different, but it’s a hard thing to get past. There is a big difference from 3-A to 4-A classifications, but I know some day we’ll be a really good team.”

Despite the challenges the team faces, Fuller said he thinks they have had a good year.

“We have a lot of members who haven’t had a lot of experience,” Fuller said. “We do have some really good players, they just haven’t played much.  The kids don’t take a day off, though. It’s a blessing and a curse being good.”

Along with coaching tennis, Fuller also teaches two sophomore history classes.

“I never thought at my age I’d still be going to a high school every day,” Fuller said. “It keeps me young. There is never a day that I wake up and don’t want to do what I do.”

Tennis team undefeated district champions, players look to individual season in spring

The tennis team finished their fall season as undefeated district champions and traveled to Wichita Falls for the regional tournament Oct. 29 and 30.

Winning their first two matches against Burleson 10-1 and Aledo 10-8, they continued on to the semifinals on Saturday morning. They fell short, however, to Wichita Falls Old High 1-10.

“Our play against Old High was what I expected,” head coach Aaron Fuller said. “We fought hard but came up short. There’s a reason they finished number two in the state, and we finished number 13.”

Seniors Conner Pulliam and Laura Haney said that they thought the team did well when they competed at the regional level.

“Even though the team is young I was proud of them, they stepped up and did well when it counted,” Pulliam said.

The team soared past expectations for their season this fall with a new coach and a young team.

“I had a feeling a lot of people expected us to fall flat on our face,” Coach Fuller said. “I think our fall season was a precursor for what people can expect to come, us doing the unexpected.”

Now the team is preparing and looking towards their individual season in the spring.

“If we work hard to get better and improve during the off season, I believe we have the potential to have some pretty satisfying results,” junior Travis Gilliland said.

Tennis team to face Dumas after defeating Frenship

The varsity tennis team has started their fall team tennis season out strong with a current record of 10-4. They have played in two tournaments so far and have won fourth out of 16 and seventh out of 16.

“We are currently 2-0 in District play and I expect to continue to go undefeated,” head coach Aaron Fuller said. “I want to be 2-0 out of District play, so that we’d be undefeated until Regionals.”

The team is currently ranked 13th in the state, and senior Conner Pulliam said that he anticipates that the team to finish the season ranked even higher.

“I’m expecting to go to state, really do my best, and have a strong season,” Pulliam said.

Senior Laura Ness shares Pulliam’s goal.

“I am expecting to get as far as we did last year, if not, farther,” Ness said. “We made it to the semis at Regionals.”

The team faced Frenship at home this Tuesday and came away with a 13-6 victory. 

“I was humbled yesterday that we beat the 16th team in the state,” Fuller said. “Although I expect that on a daily basis, it still humbles me.”

The team plays this coming weekend against Dumas at the Canyon High tennis courts.

“If we don’t beat Dumas 19-0, then we aren’t doing something right,” Fuller said.

Tennis serves into season

Varsity tennis opens the season with a 6-2 win/loss ratio.  The team has played in several tournaments and had close matches with Amarillo High and Vernon High.

Following Gary Marable’s retirement in the spring of 2010, Aaron Fuller took over as the coach in August. Senior Connor Pulliam said he is looking forward to the season and has high expectations for the new coach and the team’s future.

“We are in a rebuilding period,” Pulliam said. “We are still the best in the district and I am looking forward to a strong finish.”

Tennis team reaches regional semifinals match

The fall team tennis season ended this past weekend after the tennis team reached the semifinals of the Region 1-4A tournament.

The team opened regional play against North Richland Hills Birdville winning 18-1.

The team then defeated Wolfforth Friendship in the quarterfinals 18-1.

The team finished 20-1 after suffering a 10-2 loss against Wichita Falls High in the semifinals.