The Sealy Tiger varsity tennis team competed in its first tournament of the season and came away with a consolation bracket winner as well as plenty of experience for a younger team.

Head coach Joni Baxley said after last season got cut short at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, she was grateful to hit the courts once again.

“I am excited we get to have a season and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for us,” Baxley said.

Although senior Eric Wilson suffered a defeat, he bounced back and won the boys’ singles consolation bracket to earn the lone medal the Tigers returned to Sealy with. Classmates Carlos Godoy and Norman Juarez competed in the boys’ doubles bracket and dropped two tightly contested matches against Harker Heights, 8-6, and Caldwell on a tiebreaker.

Similarly, Rebecca Kins, Alexis Horelica and Seth Pine all dropped both of their matches in the singles circuit although the latter was competing at the varsity level for the first time. Horelica fell by a 6-0 score to a Lamar singles player and an 8-4 score to a Brenham singles player. Pine fell by 8-3 and 8-6 scores against opponents from Taylor and Caldwell, respectively.

The Tigers’ next tournament is scheduled for this Friday in Brazosport. Sealy is also scheduled to host East Bernard in a dual match on Feb. 4 for its first home competition.

After that, the Tigers will head to a tournament in Madisonville, attend a quad-match at Katy Paetow High School, host a tri-match with Caldwell and Needville, compete in a tournament in Wharton then wrap up the regular season with a tri-match in Navasota.

The District 24-4A Championship is scheduled for April 12 and 13 in Bellville with teams from El Campo, Navasota, Royal and Wharton also fighting for top spots.