The end came too quickly for the Española boys doubles tennis team of Ryan Martinez and Sterling McCall at the Class AAAA state championships May 14 in Albuquerque.
In their first match, the senior duo lost to St. Pius X’s doubles team of Devin Roach and Jonathan Barkoff 6-4, 6-0.
“(St. Pius X) was beatable,” Española tennis coach Wendell Barnett said. “The return game just wasn’t there.”
The final score was an exact repeat of the Sundevils’ May 1 loss to Chase Havemann and Patrick Raichur, of Los Alamos, who won 6-4, 6-0 in the District 2AAAA championship game at Taos.
In Albuquerque, Española held a 4-3 lead in the first set against Roach and Barkoff, but mistakes plagued them after that. Service returns went long and two double faults in the final game of the second set sealed the Sundevils’ fate. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise outstanding season for Martinez and McCall.
“That was the second ugliest match they played this season,” Barnett said. “The other was to Taos.”
Española lost to Taos during the season, but came back to defeat the Tigers 6-3, 7-5 at the district tournament. That win advanced them to the final round and earned them an automatic slot in the state tournament.
Barnett said the team should remember the success it achieved during the year.
“They had a real good season,” Barnett said. “On days when they both showed up they were very, very tough. Just some days neither one of them showed up.”
The duo finished with an overall record of 12-4, and three of those four regular-season losses came against doubles teams that advanced to the semifinals of the state championships. Roach and Barkoff ended up finishing third in Class AAAA.
Despite the disappointing ending, both players said their experience was a positive one.
“It’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me,” Martinez said. “I plan to keep playing, maybe go semi-professional.”
McCall also plans to continue in the sport.
“It’s been a new experience,” he said. “I’m definitely going to carry (tennis) with me.”