The District 9-6A Tennis Championship was an all-Jesuit affair this week as Ranger netters closed out the finals in both the singles and doubles brackets.  The two-day district tournament ended with three Jesuit athletes hoisting individual District Champion trophies, and punching their tickets to next week's Region II tournament in Waco.

Jesuit won the UIL District 9-6A Boys Championship for the second consecutive year, and fourth time in the past five years.
 
Junior Pierre Craig took the District 9-6A Singles Championship when he defeated sophomore teammate Clark Shannon in the finals Wednesday. Craig went undefeated in singles and doubles matches in the fall season, and he reached the finals of all three spring season tournaments. Shannon performed exceptionally well at both the Coppell Valentines Invitational and the Jesuit Classic, and has also seen success in singles and doubles action.
 
The duo of Campbell Frost and Hayden Kissee took the District 9-6A Doubles Championship by defeating teammates Thomas Carrier and Jackson White in the finals. Frost and Kissee, a junior and a sophomore, also won the Valentines Invitational and the Jesuit Classic for their doubles division. Carrier and White, both seniors, were the 2014 district champions, and pass the recognition on to the underclassmen this year.
 
"Winning the district championship and sending as many players as possible to the regional tournament was one of our main goals from the beginning," said head coach Paul McDaniel. "It's a long year between fall team tennis and spring tournament season, and you have to set goals along the way to keep the guys focused and engaged."  McDaniel said the team achieved some key goals along the way, like beating rival Strake Jesuit, taking on state-ranked opponents, and establishing themselves as the premier private school program in Texas.
 
Now the challenge is to prepare for a tough Region II tournament, he said. The ultimate goal would be to send competitors to the state tournament in Austin.
 
"Getting to state would be so much fun," said the junior Frost. "I know if we play like we are capable, Hayden and I have a real good shot at it."
 
Fellow junior Pierre Craig, on the singles side, echoed that confidence: "I feel really good about my game right now, and if I play well I can hang with anybody down in Waco."
 
The last Jesuit Rangers to qualify for the State Tournament was Bernie Lancaster in 2004.

The tennis titles is the fifth district championship of the year for Jesuit, joining Cross Country, Swimming & Diving, Soccer, and Golf.
 
The Region II Tournament will be held in Waco, April 19-20.  Follow @Jesuit10s on Twitter for more info.