ROGERS — Rogers High tennis player Tiffany Tang was nearly late for her doubles match against Fort Smith Southside Thursday afternoon top seeded boys and girls players from Rogers squared off against the top seeds from Southside and Fort Smith Northside.
As Lady Mounties coach Matt Fulton tried to contact Tang, the senior arrived at the tennis courts at Rogers, walking briskly from the parking lot. Tang is also usually late for most practices too. But she has a good reason.
Tang is taking an Advance Placement Chemistry class and the only time the class is offered is the final period of the school day, which is the athletic period when nearly every Rogers player heads to practice or competition.
Tang only had a few minutes to warmup but that is all that she needed as she teamed with her sister, Katherine, to begin defense of their Class 7A and Overall Doubles Championships with a quick 6-1, 6-0 victory against Southside’s Kayley Edwards and Gracie Harvey.
And Thursday’s match could be the beginning of the end of Tiffany Tang’s team tennis career. Tang is the top girls tennis player in the state after winning two Class 7A and Over singles titles her freshman and sophomore years and last year’s doubles sweep. Fulton said Tiffany Tang has the game to play Division I tennis at a high level.
“Tiffany has been getting a lot of letters, a lot of interest,” Fulton said.
But Tang may opt to give up college tennis to concentrate on her studies. Tang is a straight-A student and currently ranks No. 1 in her class at Rogers. She also has scored a 35 on her ACT, including a perfect 36 on the math portion, Fulton said..
“Tiffany is such a good student that she can probably get a full ride academically almost anywhere she wants,” Fulton said.
Tiffany Tang said she has not made a final decision on whether to play college tennis but it appears she is leaning against it.
“I’m not sure if I am going to play college tennis,” Tiffany Tang said. “I may just possibly concentrate on academics. I’m thinking about Arkansas and Rice.”
Katherine Tang is a sophomore and Tiffany Tang said her sister’s improvement was one key to the win against Southside.
“We just played our game, having sharp serves and playing consistently on the baseline,” Tiffany Tang said. “Katherine has really improved.”
It was also a good afternoon for the Mounties top doubles team of junior Riley McGill and freshman Michael Zheng as they defeated the Southside senior doubles team of Walker and Wiles Wiggins 2-6, 7-5, 10-7.
Team scores were not kept but Rogers coach Mike Harper said the victory bodes well for the Mounties chances this season.
“That was a great win as the Wiggins’ are as good as any team in the state,” Harper said. “I was proud of that effort. I’m sure they may get to play again at the state tournament. I just hope it is as good a match.”