Colt boys, girls tennis dreaming of gold

Karen Boehler
NMMI Sports Press
Colt tennis — in particular boys tennis — has a strong winning tradition.
Records dating back to 1993 show 11 boys team titles — including four straight from 2011-2014 — seven individual singles titles and six doubles titles. Former NMMI coaches Gene Hardman and Jim Kelly hold a combined nine titles between them.
While last year wasn’t one of those championship seasons, new head coach Will Cavin hopes to get the boys right back to the top and this year add a girls’ title to the list.
“I think we have the kids who can be individual state champions and team state champions,” he said. “Bring back that blue trophy.”
On the boys side, Cavin said he has seven top players, and two or three are just on the bubble of being able to work into that ladder of the top six or seven.
“That forces the competitiveness, and that’s exactly what you want,” he said. “You don’t want anybody just assuming they’re the best, or that they’ve got a playing spot. They’ve got to compete for it.”
Three new cadets from Mexico — Sophomores Farid Yunes Garcia; Francisco Saracho; and Jose Salazar, and returning soph Luis Fontes Plascencia are expected to fill the top four slots once all four get eligible, which Cavin expects will happen after the nine-weeks grades come out.
Three other returners — junior Spencer Treat from Roswell; Dexter sophomore Allen DeGroot; and junior Felix Higurea Rodriguez from Mexico round out that top seven.
Other Colts to watch include junior Angel Badilla Reyes, who comes from the basketball squad; sophomore Ignacio Ongay Campuzano; and freshman Sebastian Aguirre Russek.
Then there are a number of others just battling to make the team.
“I’m keeping them out, as we start the season, just to give them an opportunity to get where they need to be,” Cavin said.
So while the first tournaments of the season — which started Friday — NMMI might not be quite as dominant, but the coach is still thinking positive.
“We’ll be very competitive, but maybe not quite as competitive as we’ll be in the middle of March.”
And certainly not as competitive as in late March, when they’ll take on Mesilla Valley Christian, Portales, Ruidoso and Silver at the district meet in Las Cruces.
They’ve got two dual meets with Portales as well as a match against last year’s defending champ, Las Vegas Robertson, which will only make then stronger, Cavin said.
“The more competition you see (the better you get.) When you get to see Robertson and some of the other 4A schools, there’s some good tennis programs in the state at our level. So we’re not going to be able to take anybody for granted, that’s for sure.”
The girls will have a full team this season, and while they might not be as strong as the boys team-wise, Cavin has no doubt one of his players will be in the thick of the fight for the singles title.
“Without a doubt, Megan (Lynch) is one I’m going to see shining at the state tournament,” he said. “She’s really an excellent tennis player.”
Lynch played as a freshman, the year her brother Gavin won an individual title, left the Institute for a year but has returned. She’ll lead a squad that includes senior Claudia Gerhardus Blancarte; juniors Savannah Lee and Sofia Brassea Flores; and sophomores Miranda Nepip who also swam for NMMI, basketball player Flor Toscano Fimbres, and JinXiu Dong.
And while Cavin can’t predict how his girls will finish as a team, he said they’re working hard.
“I think we’re going to have fun,” he said. “I think the girls will develop over the season and have a good opportunity to get somewhere come time for district.”