October 19, 2026 - The Center Roughriders' team tennis season ends at the State quarterfinals.
After blowing through Bi-District and Area the week prior, the Riders had a one-sided match against Orange Little Cypress-Mauriceville on Monday, October 12th at the Regional Quarterfinal level. The Riders doubles lineup won 6 out of the 7 matches, which has been a common trend in the playoffs. Only needing 4 wins to seal team victory, Center pulled out 5 of the first 6. The Riders put the Orange LCM Bear’s playoff run into hibernation with an 11-2 triumph.
The following Thursday, the Rider tennis team had a 6 hour battle against the Franklin Lions. The Riders had a slight edge after taking 4 out of the 7 doubles matches. #3 Zac Payne and #6 Phoenix Couglar were the only boys out of the 5 single’s matches to win. On the girl’s singles side, #1 Autumn Bennett, #3 Emerson Wulf, #4 Maddyson Smith and #6 Evyn Wulf carried 4 of the 5 matches, putting Center on top 10-7.
Advancing to the Region 3, 4A Finals (State Quarterfinals), the Riders had to take on the highly ranked Waco Robinson. Again, Center took the lead 4-3 in doubles matches. Phoenix Couglar was the lone boy’s singles player to come out with a win. The girls singles pulled out 4 of the 6 matches, but the Riders were one match shy of the team victory, falling 10-9.
- Girl’s Team: Autumn Bennett, Alicia Landin, Emerson Wulf, Madisyn Smith, Zoey Shelton, Evyn Wulf and Kenley Ramos
- Boy’s Team: Bryce Gaddy, Ryder Moody, Zac Payne, Blake Collard, Timothy Pletcher, Phoenix Couglar and Jayden Kahn
A big congratulations to the Center Roughrider tennis team and Coaches Leon Dykes and Lori Cooper on a fantastic fall season. Individual match play will start in the spring.
