This year’s Dothan Eagle high school tennis players of the year are a contrast in experience.
One is a young player in the second year competing on the high school level, while the other is a five-year starting veteran.
Piedra finished 15-7 at No. 1 singles for HA, but five of the losses were to state champions – four in close three set matches, including a memorable state championship loss, 11-9 in the decisive set. The Raider standout also earned a 19-4 record in doubles with partner Brody Williams and the duo finished as state runner-up.
“She was given a hard job playing the No. 1 position as an eighth grader, but she really rose to that challenge,” McCallister said. “She developed a wide variety of shots that she could use and she was really tough mentally and aggressive in her play. She handled herself very well and she was very successful.”“I knew she could handle it,” McCallister said. “She played exceptionally well last year as a seventh grader.
A year ago, Brown played two sports during the spring, but decided to focus strictly on one this past season. The work paid off during Providence Christian’s season. She won 10 of her first 11 singles matches, losing only a three-set match to a Bainbridge player, falling 10-8 in the third set. Included was an impressive three-set win over a Margaret Roby of Class 6A Trinity.
McCallister said Brown’s vast arsenal of shots and ability to hit shots to the right spot made the Eagle player a hard player to beat. Houston Academy head coach Brian Hart wanted Piedra as well as the rest of the Raiders to see strong competition to get prepared for the postseason. HA faced traditional powers Trinity, Montgomery Academy. St. James and UMS-Wright in addition to St. Luke’s during the season.
It was the third state championship match for Piedra, who won No. 6 singles as a seventh grader and won at No. 1 singles in 2021. “He also made some improvements on his second serve so nobody could cheat up on him when he hits the second serve.”“I had been struggling with my serve, but over the winter and spring, I got more speed and more rotation on the ball and I felt that helped me a lot,” Piedra said.
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