The win marks the third straight trip to the UIL state tournament for the Raiders under the tutelage of head coach Darby Norman.
“We had lots of kids coming back and five seniors who were key factors in our success,” Norman said. “I’ve been blessed with two outstanding assistant coaches in John Stephens and Billy Ceniceros and they have helped us get these kids ready all season.”
The No. 2-ranked Raiders had faced rival and No. 3 Canyon twice this year and won both matches by an identical 17-2 score.
In the two previous matches, the Raiders netters got out to an early lead after doubles play and this match was no different. In boys’ number two doubles, Randall got a big win from seniors Dax Betzen and Parker Land as the duo notched a split set victory, 6-7, 6-3, 10-3 over Austin Schoenenberger and Sam Chettinger.
Another key victory was earned by Keaton Daniels and Jazzy Phillips in mixed doubles. In the previous two meetings with the Eagles, Randall had dropped mixed doubles, but the junior duo cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Bradley Enriquez and Johnna Finke.
With those wins, Randall held a 5-2 advantage over Canyon.
The Raiders then finished off Canyon on the strength of singles victories from Sawyer Eason and Keaton Daniels, all in straight sets on the boys’ side and straight set victories from Lynnlee Ramirez and Emmalee Sillivent on the girl’s side.
The clincher arrived via a split set victory from Lando Ingersoll. The senior split sets with Kale Morton before winning 11-9 in the super tiebreaker to notch the tenth win and a ticket to state for Randall.
Randall won the UIL state title in 2022 and fell to Wimberly in the state semifinals last year.
To get a second championship in three years the road will run through the Texans again as the top two ranked teams in Class 4A face off at 8 a.m., Wednesday, on the courts of Baylor University.
The winner of that semifinal will face the winner between Wills Point or China Spring.
