After ending district play in a three way tie for first place, the varsity tennis team will begin playoffs against Aledo Oct. 15 at Hamilton Park in Wichita Falls. The match will begin at 1 p.m.

Currently, the Randall team is 20-2, and ended district play 7 wins and 1 loss.

“Our goal is to win the first couple of rounds,” Coach Darby Norman said. “Third round, we will have a tough opponent probably against Lubbock High or Amarillo High. If we win the third round of playoffs, we can make it all the way to regional finals. If we make it to the Regional Tournament, and play good, we could be pulling off something special and go to State.”

Senior Saydie Miles said the team is winning matches, and leaving guts on the court no matter if they are the underdog or not. She said their biggest challenge is losing senior Bethany Rodgers to injury and having to step up and play their part in winning matches.

“Losing Bethany, a great player, has been tough for us,” Norman said. “Everybody on the team loves her and how she competes out there. When she went down with her knee injury it was pretty tough, but when you face adversity you really have two choices: you either use it as an excuse, or you try to do better. That was my challenge to our team; let’s not let this destroy us, let’s let her injury motivate us.”

Freshman Lizzy Hollabaugh said being a freshman on varsity can create a lot pressure because she has big shoes to fill from last year’s seniors. Because of this, Hollabaugh said she has to work hard on and off the court, encourage her teammates, and deliver wins for her team. Senior Kyle McEvers said although there is a lot of pressure, this year’s Randall team has what it takes to make a strong playoff run.

“Some people thought that we wouldn’t get as far as we’ve gotten and they didn’t think we would pull out so many wins,” McEvers said. “The team is full of hard working individuals who take care of business and get the job done on and off the court. The team has done an extraordinary job this season. ”