Nederland’s Wong ousted in state first round
Published 9:38 pm Thursday, May 18, 2017
COLLEGE STATION — Jayci Goldsmith of Dripping Springs is getting used to the Texas A&M tennis courts in a nice way.
The Aggies’ verbal commit, who’s only a junior, began her run in the 5A state singles tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Nederland sophomore Jayci Wong on Thursday. But Nederland coach Jorge Lopez said the match was much closer than the score indicated.
“Jayci [Wong] probably had about six deuces out of the 12 games,” Lopez said. “She played really well, to me. Even her dad [Lamar coach David Wong] was happy.”
Wong, a two-time District 22-5A champion, made the state tournament for the second straight year after playing through the playbacks of the Region III championships in Willis. But the eight-player singles tourney at state is single-elimination.
With the loss, Nederland has yet to produce a first-round winner since Lopez became the program’s head coach in 1990.
Goldsmith also has two points in the Association of Tennis Professionals, which gives her a world ranking, according to Lopez.
— I.C. Murrell
About I.C. Murrell
I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
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