Carroll freshman Megan Horter took the varsity tennis scene by storm, plowing through all girls singles players that stood in her way this spring.
Advancing past the competition in a manner that seemed almost effortless, Horter’s fortune changed when she reached the 5A state tennis tournament earlier this week. Problem was, she met up with someone who was a little too much like her.
Horter fell in the opening round of the state meet on Monday to Klein’s Ariel Morton in a 6-3, 1-6, 1-6 decision at World of Tennis in Lakeway, northwest of Austin. What looked to be a strong start fell apart in the second and third match, as Morton took over.
"Sometimes at state, you can only play as well as your opponent lets you," said Norm Smith, Carroll tennis coach,. "[Morton] dictated how [Horter] would play, and I told Megan, 'That’s what you usually do to your opponents.’ She makes them play the way she wants them to."
Horter’s dominance was impressive throughout the spring, as the first-year varsity player and USTA star compiled a 20-0 record prior to state during which time she won every tournament in which she took part. Knowing that her opening draw was Morton, Horter hoped to take advantage of her knowledge of her opponent, as she had played Morton in USTA competition in the past.
However, Morton, the No. 1-ranked girls 16s player in the state in USTA, seemed to find the advantages against Horter, the No. 2-ranked girl in the state. Morton carried the momentum of her strong opening-round victory all the way to the state title meet on Tuesday before losing to The Woodlands’ Heather Steinbauer in the championship match.
Smith said that in the final two sets of Horter’s match, it was not so much that the Carroll star didn’t play up to par as it was Morton taking control.
"The first set, [Horter] played very clean, didn’t make many mistakes and hit a lot of winners," he said. "In the second set, she may have had a few more unforced errors, but more than that, [Morton] just raised her effort incredibly. She started hitting winner after winner after winner.
"We were hoping after the second set that [Morton] would come down, but she just kept on playing spotless tennis," he said.
Smith said that the state tournament was filled with some of the top tennis players according to USTA rankings. The level was high all the way around and some athletes that were expected to win lost early on in various draws.
Although Horter’s first trip to state didn’t turn out the way the freshman had hoped, Smith said it will serve as a great learning experience.
"Just as a freshman, hopefully that will set the table for years to come," he said. "It was a pretty big-time environment down there.
"There’s about 240 5A schools and each school has two girls singles players. So out of 480 kids, [Horter] was in the top eight. That’s quite an honor."
Smith brought Carroll players Ryan McClanahan and Stewart Pittman, as well as Taylor Jurica, all returning players next year, down to the state meet to support Horter and to get a glimpse of the tournament. McClanahan and Jurica reached the regional tournament this spring as Carroll’s top mixed doubles team, and Pittman reached region with boys doubles partner Andrew Reznik, who graduates next month.
Bringing the other athletes to the state meet should serve as a reminder to them that Austin is where they should aim to finish the season next spring, as well as in the fall at the end of the upcoming team tennis season, Smith said.
"We would love to have had a few more [advance to] state, but I think a lot of people made a lot of big-time improvements," he said. "You hope that there will be a hunger from coming up a little bit short. You hope that carries over to the fall season and serves to motivate the kids."