H.S. Tennis: Abilene Wylie's Crousen, Short advance to state finals

HELOTES – There have been times this season when Stealey Crousen has leaned on partner and good friend Trevor Short in their mixed doubles matches.

Then there were times like Tuesday, when the junior Short leaned on the senior Crousen to keep the Abilene Wylie duo going at the Class 5A state tennis tournament at Northside Tennis Club.

It was Crousen who kept them afloat early in the first match Tuesday, before beating Leander Rouse’s Shannon Barton and Lucas Alden 6-3, 6-0.

Then in the semifinals later that day, Short again struggled early. But like the first match that day, once he caught up, the they had little trouble dispatching Frisco Lebanon’s Ashna Potluri and Aaditt Rishi 6-4, 6-1.

“I told you last week, he carries me sometimes,” Crousen said. “But the first match this morning, he was a little nervous, and I stepped up. I did my job, and I played pretty well today.”

Short didn’t dispute Crousen’s assessment.

“There were a lot of nerves,” he said. “It took about six games in the first set of the first match to get them out.”

Short said it played out much the same in the semifinals.

“This (last) match, it took about four, five games to get the nerves out,” Short said. “If I can just get that under control, we should be just chilling.”

Crousen and Short will play College Station’s Paxton O’Shea and Maya Diyasheva at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday for the state title.

It would be Abilene Wylie’s first state title in the spring since making the move to Class 5A the 2018-19 season.

“I’m really excited,” Crousen said. “I’ve personally never been this far in the spring state tournament. I’ve played for a team state championship. But, like, dude, this is my best friend. This is really, really exciting. We had so much fun today. It was unbelievable.”

There were some hiccups − and butterflies − along the way. But Crousen, who is playing in the state tournament for the third consecutive year, got them worked out quickly.

“In the first match, she was like, ‘OK, Trevor let’s stop playing bad and start playing good,’” Short said. “Stop sucking, basically, is what she said. In that (last match), I had to tell her to stop sucking after the first set – once I got my nerves out, of course.”

Crousen had some nerves, too, but they didn't last long. She reached the state semifinals playing girls doubles with Carly Bontke last year, after losing in the first round at state with Kindall Alford in girls doubles in 2021.

It took Short, who was playing in his first state tournament, a little more time. Once he did, everything was fine.

“He played well,” Crousen said. “After he got all the nerves shaken out, he played really, really well. That last match, he dug out some insane balls, served really well and did enough to get us to the finals.”

It’s the first springs finals appearance for Hathorn, who took over the program its first season in 5A. The Bulldogs have reached the team tennis finals twice in the fall – losing to Dallas Highland Park each time (10-2 in 2021 and 11-1 in 2018).

He believes Crousen and Short have a good shot at finally winning a 5A individual title in his last season with the team. Hathorn will retire after this season.

“I expect the kids to step up tomorrow and come out with guns a blazing and take care of business,” Hathorn said. “I hope the nerves disappears quickly, because in the finals, you can’t get behind that far.”

Hathorn expected Crousen and Short to have a shot at a title all season.

“You can think it, but doing it is whole other thing, and they did it,” he said.

Last two standing

The rest of the Abilene contingent bowed out in the first round, including Wylie’s other mixed doubles team of Marshall McPherson and Bontke.

McAllen Memorial’s Diego Salvo and Dania Casas beat the Wylie duo 6-2, 6-3.

“I think the nerves might have got us a little bit,” Hathorn said. “I believe once we got down, we started pressing some. It’s hard to play from behind and execute like you want to. We probably tried to do too much and didn’t pull off the shot. But those two had very few losses this spring and most were to (Crousen and Short) and a team that’s here in 6A. So, they had an incredible year.”

AHS’ Sullivan goes out fighting

Frisco Liberty’s Sanjheev Rao beat Abilene High’s Griffin Sullivan 6-0, 6-3 in the boys singles opener. Griffin was the lone qualifier from AHS and the first to reach state in boys singles since the 1930s.

“I played well,” said Sullivan, a senior. “The beginning of the match was a little rough. I started out really tight in the first set. But I took a break in between the first and second sets, and when I came back, I played a lot more loose. I really enjoyed the second set, because I competed a lot better.”

Sullivan said Rao kept him off balance much of the match.

“Sanjheev is a really good player,” Sullivan said. “He has a very good serve. I struggled to return his serve most games. He just took control of the points better than I did. He was able to be on offense most of the time, and it kept me scrambling most fo the time.”

Despite the loss, Sullivan was grateful for the opportunity. He never thought he would play at the state tournament.

“I’m very happy to have made it this far, and I’ve enjoyed the experience,” Sullivan said.

AHS coach Stacy Bryan liked the battle Sullivan put after the first set.

“I’m so proud of the fight he put up,” Bryan said. “The first set didn’t go the way he wanted. He got down a little in the second set, but then he just fought back. He never gives up, and to be one of the top eight in the state is incredible. We had a goal for him to win district this year, and I think he did a lot more than that. So, I couldn’t be prouder of this young man. He always represents us with the most class, and he will be missed.”

Bristow, Brown come up short

Austin Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy’s Ted Gershon and William Gu beat Wylie’s Grant Bristow and Conner Brown 6-1, 6-3 in the first round of boys doubles.

“On paper, they were probably better than us,” said Bristow, a senior. “So, we came out just wanting to have fun and just try our best tennis possible. At some points we did. We played very well. But at the end of the day, they were the better team. We had our chances. Just a few points here and there could have turned the tide.”

Brown, who also is a senior, also was happy just to get the chance to play at state against a good opponent.

“The word that just come to mind is gratitude,” Brown said. “I’m thankful we got to be out here. I thought maybe we could have played a little better. We could have played a lot worse, too.

“We played a great team today. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re in the state finals or win state. We controlled what we could control, which is our attitude and effort. That’s what we’re proud of and everything we did to get here.”

Added Bristow: “That’s all you can do is play your best, and I think that what me and Conner did today. We went out there. It’s our last tournament, and we put it all out there. We came up a hair short, but it was our best. That’s all that matters.”

Hathorn said the slow start made for a tough, uphill climb.

“We just started off so slow and nervous and didn’t execute,” Hathorn said. “Against that team, as strong as they were, you couldn’t get away with that. We got it together in the second set and had chances. I thought that team was just a little better than us today. … They (Bristow and Brown) had a great year. They gave it all they had, and I’m proud of them.”

Class 5A state tournament

At Northside Tennis Center, Helotes

Tuesday's Results

BOYS SINGLES

State Quarterfinals – Noey Do, Fort Bend Kempner, def. Rowan Olsen, Smithson Valley, 6-1, 6-2; Sanjheev Rao, Frisco Liberty, def. Griffin Sullivan, Abilene High, 6-0, 6-3; Ethan Ruppanner, Amarillo Tascosa, def. Jack Yurich, Dallas Hillcrest, 6-4, 6-1; Alan Gonzalez, Mission Sharyland, def. Andrew Lavine, Austin McCallum, 6-0, 6-1.

State Semifinals – Do def. Rao 6-4, 6-4; Gonzalez def. Ruppanner 6-2, 6-3.

State Finals – Do vs. Gonzalez, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

BOYS DOUBLES

First Quarterfinals – Shriyan Daggumalli/Aravind Sridhar, Frisco Centennial, def. Ethan Carter/Diego Garcia, Harlingen South, 6-2, 6-1; Ted Gershon/William Gu, Austin LASA, def. Grant Bristow/Conner Brown, Abilene Wylie, 6-1, 6-3; Hugo Garcia/Guillermo Garcia, Mission Sharyland, def. Erick Van Zyl/Luke Archer, Longview, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2; Kelton Brown/Wade Bryant, Amarillo High, def. Ethan Eberhardt/Michael Lanni, Friendswood, 6-1, 6-3.

State Semifinals – Daggumalli/Sridhar def. Gershon/Gu, 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3; Brown/Bryant def. Garcia/Garcia 3-6, 7-6 (8), 6-3.

State Finals – Daggumalli/Sridhar vs. Brown/Bryant, 8:30 a.m. Wednesday

MIXED DOUBLES

State Quarterfinals – Diego Salvo/Daniela Casas, McAllen Memorial, def. Carly Bontke/Marshall McPherson, Abilene Wylie, 6-2, 6-3; Paxton O’Shea/Maya Diyasheva, College Station, def. Isabella Smith/Max Henderson, Frisco Reedy, 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-4; Trevor Short/Stealey Crousen, Abilene Wylie, def. Shannon Barton/Lucas Aiden, Leander Rouse, 6-3, 6-0; Ashna Potluri/Aaditt Rishi, Frisco Lebanon Trail, def. Sebastian Delgado/Andrea Delgado, Richmond Foster, 6-1, 6-2.

State Semifinals – O’Shea/Diyasheva def. Salvo/Casas, 6-1, 6-1; Short/Crousen def. Potluri/Rishi 6-4, 6-1.

State Finals – O’Shea/Diyasheva vs. Short/Crousen, 8:30 a.m. Wednesday

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene Wylie's Short, Crousen reach Class 5A state tennis finals