The temperature was over 100 degrees for most of the weekend, but the Lake Highlands tennis players managed to keep cool heads during their regional tennis tournament last Friday and Saturday.

Battling against some of the best teams Frisco and McKinney had to offer, a Lake Highlands varsity team with many new faces beat the heat for a respectable 2-2 finish for the tourney.

The LHHS team won a dual match against Sherman High School on Friday and another on Saturday over Frisco Centennial.

The Wildcats had to reload this year after losing several key seniors from last year, as well as a few players to injury, including team captain Ryan Berg.

Many of the players were making their varsity tournament debut this weekend, including two new freshmen Eric Speer and Griffin Milan.

Griffin especially shone, playing line one and two singles during the weekend, and winning two of his four matches, notably a third set super-tiebreaker against the Line one senior for the Sherman Bearcats.

He wasn’t the only varsity rookie to excel, as sophomore Luke Mason teamed up with team captain Jonathan Olivo to go undefeated in their two doubles matches.

Of course, the team’s varsity veterans continued to prove their worth, as well.

Captain Maggie Duffy gave an incredible 6-2 performance for the tournament, playing, and dominating, line one singles and doubles the whole way through.

Another returning varsity player, Nicole Rains, won four of her seven matches. John Paul Turnham also won several matches.

The team was looking to get a fast start, and after this positive first outing, seems to be ready for the upcoming season.

The Wildcats will face Richardson Pearce in their next match on Tuesday, August 24th at 4:00 p.m. at the LHHS tennis courts.

GO 'CATS!