Memorial still going strong with Cy Ranch up next in playoffs

said. “They were the pretournament favorite for a reason. The competition at state is tough, but they were better than everybody else.”

As a two-time state champion, Giammalva earned himself a place among the school’s alltime tennis greats. He was thrilled to keep Memorial’s boys doubles streak intact.

“At Memorial, we put a lot of emphasis on doubles,” Giammalva said. “Coach Booth works us hard and it’s paid off the last three years.”

The Mustangs’ two state qualifiers didn’t fare as well in boys singles. Senior Tadhg Collins fell to Allen’s Dillon Pineda 7-5, 6-1 in the quarterfinals, while junior Dane Esses withdrew from his first round match against eventual state champ Nathan Brown of El Paso Coronado.

“Tadhg played really well,” Booth said “The first set was tight and he had chances.”

Holloway also made history, becoming the first Stratford player to win a state title in either boys or girls singles.

For Holloway, this was his third state appearance after competing in mixed doubles as a sophomore and reaching the boys singles semifinals his junior. That experience served him well.

“I felt very comfortable and relaxed on the court,” Holloway said. “I made the semis last year and wanted to at least get to the finals.”

Holloway surpassed his own expectations with a dominant display. He crushed McKinney North’s Pablo Trevino 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals, then survived a tight second set before beating Liam Crawley of San Antonio Alamo Heights 6-2, 7-5 in the semifinals.

“I played Liam a couple of times in the juniors, so I knew he was a tough opponent,” Holloway said. “I wasn’t surprised the match was so close.”

But there was nothing dramatic about the finals. Holloway smothered Edinburgh Vela’s Andre Mercado 6-1, 6-0 to end his Stratford career with a state trophy.

“You don’t expect to win like that in the state finals, but I was confident and went for my shots,” Holloway said. “That was one of the best matches I’ve ever played. It was almost surreal.”

Mustangs advance

The Memorial baseball team might have set the record for the latest completed high school playoff game ever in Texas during their weather-challenged Class 6A-Region III area series against Katy Taylor.

The constant rainy weather left both teams’ home fields unplayable, forcing them to search for alternate venues.

“Just getting a field was a story in itself,” said Memorial head coach Jeremy York. “It was incredible.”

Game 1 was moved to Sweeny, with the contest ending at 10:30 p.m. Memorial eventually prevailed 2-1 in extra innings on a two-out single in the top of the ninth inning from sophomore Justin Collins to score senior Kody Clemens, who reached on a lead-off double.

Collins was responsible for Memorial’s first run on a solo homer in the seventh inning.

Senior John Tucker was the winning pitcher, tossing four quality innings. The Mustangs also got solid relief work from junior Nick Bregenzer and Clemens, who picked up the save.

Game 2 was even wilder, with Memorial and Katy Taylor eventually moving the contest to Baseball USA, following the Cy-Fair vs. Westside game.

Memorial (22-5-1) exploded for six runs in the bottom of the second inning, with Clemens’ tworun double setting the tone.

Clemens was 3-for-5 with four RBI, while junior Colton Taylor (3-for4, two RBI) and Tucker (2-for-3) delivered multiple hits. Senior Drew Van Norman, one of four Memorial pitchers to take the mound, was the winning pitcher.

Memorial (22-5-1) will face Cypress Ranch in the next round.

Game 1 of the Class 6A-Region III quarterfinal series will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 21, at Cy Ranch. Memorial will host Game 2 at 7 p.m. Friday, May 22. Game 3, if needed, will be at a neutral site.

“Cy Ranch is a very good team,” York said. “We’re going to have to play a whole lot better against Cy Ranch. In some ways, we were very fortunate to get past Katy Taylor.”