The 2025 fall tennis season has come to a close, with the varsity team placing as finalists in state on October 23, 2025 in Waco, Texas.
The road to this accomplishment was long and hard, requiring plenty of work and effort from the team that wasn’t only physical, but mental as well.
“My mental preparation on the court was similar to past experiences because I had to work hard to win for myself, my team, and my school.” Senior Cooper Richardson said. “This season has helped me excel in my encouragement towards my teammates because I can only do so much for my team and I know that I rely on them just as much as they rely on me.”
The season was full of plenty of lows and highs, a crucial high being that this semester marked Canyon’s first win against Randall since 2014.
“We played them 3 times throughout this season. The first time, I won the 10th match, which made the final score 10-9.” Sophomore Johnna Finke said. “This win gave our team the momentum and confidence we needed to succeed throughout the rest of the season. Then I clenched again the 3rd time we played Randall. The final score for this match was 10-2; the win was huge for our team because it sent us to the state tournament.”
Even after achieving all their victories to get to state, their journey to the state tournament in Waco took a rocky turn when the team’s bus broke down in Fort Worth.
“After about an hour of trouble-shooting and trying to get it started back up, I called a coaching buddy in Fort Worth to see if we could borrow a bus until our transportation department could get us a vehicle.” Tennis coach David Deleon said, “Out of the kindness of his heart, he drove us to Waco and back. His gesture is what makes West Texas one of the best places to live.”
When they made it to Waco, the team successfully beat Texarkana Pleasant Grove 10-0 in the semi-finals, and continued to put up a fight against Wimberly in the finals but ended up placing runner-up at 5-10.
“Wimberley played better and earned the win, but I will always be proud of our team’s fight and character.” Deleon said. “The biggest improvement I have seen has been in how well everyone got along. We had a handful of new people and almost everyone had a slightly different role than last year and this was the most fun I have ever had. They worked hard and had fun doing it. Truly a special group of kids.”
