At the Class 5A level, the No. 2-ranked Amarillo High team was one of four AISD schools that qualified for the playoffs and Koby Otto’s team looks poised to make more noise. In the bidistrict round the Sandies took out No. 20 Lubbock Cooper on Tuesday in Plainview with an impressive 10-1 victory. They followed that up with a quick 11-0 win over El Paso Jefferson in Midland Friday afternoon. Those two wins set up an epic matchup with No. 1-ranked Abilene Wylie in the quarters with the two schools set to battle at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Lubbock High. The other teams in AISD fell in the bidistrict round. Tascosa lost a close one to No. 17 Abilene High 10-8 while Caprock fell to No. 13 Lubbock High 19-0 and Palo Duro lost by the same score to the top-ranked Wylie team.
Randall and Canyon both advanced to the Class 4A regional quarterfinals while West Plains and Hereford fell in the first round. The No. 1-ranked Raiders had no problems rolling through their first two opponents. The Raiders beat both Iowa Park and Brock by 19-0 scores. Coach Darby Norman’s netters have yet to lose a set in the first two rounds and now play No. 3-ranked Vernon Lions at noon, on Tuesday on the campus of Lubbock Christian. The road for the No. 12 Eagles wasn’t as smooth as they earned a hard fought 10-7 win over No. 15 Burkburnett. The Eagles were up 4-3 after doubles competition as they swept the boys doubles and Bradley Enriquez and Brylee Jesko won a pivotal mixed doubles match. After taking four of the six boys’ singles games, Kaitlyn Leonard and Cora Bell won their singles matches to earn the victory for David DeLeon’s team. Things went smoother in the area round as Canyon bested Peaster 10-4 on the strength of five doubles wins. Next up the Eagles will play Wichita Falls High at 1 p.m. on Tuesday on the campus of Wichita Falls High. Elsewhere, West Plains fell to Vernon 13-6 and No. 16 Hereford lost to Wichita Falls High 11-3 in bidistrict action.
