KFDM COOP Posted April 8, 2008 Report Posted April 8, 2008 Lopez breezes to singles finals By Tom Halliburton The Port Arthur News VIDOR -- Grant Lopez has earned the right to feel a bit more tired of processing those pleasant tennis-court requests from his dad, Jorge Lopez. But the rest of Nederland's tennis squad probably has heard every bit as much barking from their Bulldogs tennis coach as this freshman sensation has. A determined and successful taskmaster throughout two decades of coaching Nederland's racket men and women, the older Lopez has found a serve that's even hard for him to handle. The former Lamar University standout in the 1970s, Jorge knows his way around a tennis court, but he imparts as much of that knowledge as possible to his 15-year-old who bangs serves at speeds over 100 miles an hour. Grant Lopez (22-3 in this school year) has already successfully navigated his way into USTA junior competition. That can tend to turn his walk through the District 22-4A boys singles seem like a piece of cake, so to speak. The top-seeded Lopez will meet junior teammate Aaron Elizondo in an all-Nederland final today on Vidor's courts at 1 p.m. NHS also will completely both ends of the boys doubles final at 1 when top-seeded Cody Mays and Ben Wiedenfeld will meet second-seeded Nick Duplan and Jimmy Hoang. It will be an upset if Nederland will bring home the girls singles crown today at 1 p.m. Second-seeded Rachel Binagia will meet top-seeded Lumberton standout Jessica Brown. An unseeded NHS duo of Jordan Chandler and Kayla Ferguson will be underdogs today in the girls doubles final at 1 against Lumberton's top-seeded team of Laura Chapman and Brittany Guyton. The lone bracket champion crowned on this opening day turned out to be the Little Cypress-Mauriceville tandem of sophomore Corey Guilbeaux and senior Emily Walker. The LC-M pair weathered 85-degree temperatures on Court 1 to down Nederland's Holly Hodge and Adam Weaver, 6-4, 6-3. Two representatives from each of the five brackets will advance to Huntsville for the Class 4A Region III tournament on Apr. 24-25. Due to the extremely difficult competition level in Greater Houston, that regional event has turned into an all-too-brief outing for Golden Triangle racket swingers. Lopez just might change that depressing trend before long. Unlike his shorter dad, Grant nears 5-9 and arguably gets his height from his grandfather. He started getting a half-hour lesson from dad about three times a week when he was seven. It all changed from casual to a more serious endeavor by age 11 or 12. His athletic ability is such that Grant competes in powerlifting and track, working on his upper body strength as well as speed and quickness. "He's better than I was because he has more athletic ability," the older Lopez said. "He doesn't have to try for things. He doesn't have to practice that much." Oh sure, Grant can improve his volleys and develop more quickness but his nuts-and-bolts tennis can place his future in an ideal position. He will turn 16 in June. He's a dominant leader on arguably the best boys tennis squad that his father ever has coached at Nederland. With seniors such as Nick Duplan, Ben Wiedenfeld, Adam Weaver, and Jimmy Hoang, the Dogs are better than ever on the boys side but Grant's game can serve as icing on the cake... when Dad doesn't lick off the icing. "I try to let him go and have some fun but it's hard to coach your own kid," the NHS tennis coach said. "I think I started going on the court with dad when I was 6 or 7," the younger Lopez said. "I really don't remember that much... We're pretty close, I guess."
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