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AUSTIN -- New Braunfels' Lilly Kimbell won her third straight state singles championship, but first in Class 5A, with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over A&M Consolidated's Anik Cepeda Tuesday at the UIL State Tennis Tournament.
"I did the best I could, honestly," Cepeda said. "She was a really great player. I don't think there was any way around her. I was hoping to get there and, if I was a little bit lucky, get to the finals, so I can't be disappointed."
Kimbell, a junior, had captured titles in Class 4A when the Unicorns played in that classification. They moved up to 5A this school year.
Cepeda, who had been close to qualifying for state throughout her high school career, said the experience was rewarding.
"It's what I have been waiting for, and after all these years, it felt pretty sweet," said Cepeda.
While Cepeda's first appearance at state concluded with a silver medal at Penick-Allison Courts, Franklin players captured gold playing in finals at World of Tennis at Lakeway.
The Franklin duo of Kendra Casey and Jake Russ closed out their third straight state championship in mixed doubles by winning the Class 2A title, and freshman Kayla Casey won the singles title.
Kendra Casey and Russ defeated Krum's Daniel Atterberry and Afton Barber 6-1, 6-1. Atterberry and Barber had defeated Brazos Valley doubles teams from Center-ville and Lexington on Monday before falling to the Franklin pair, which lost a total of five games at state to complete the three-peat.
"Jake played good, but I didn't play as good as I normally do," said Casey, who finished third in singles play at state her freshman year. "Jake said we could have won it four years."
"It was like last year, but I'm not going to say it was easy," said Russ of the state tournament run. "We were down 0-2 in our first match. I gave Kendra the evil eye. We did what we always do, let Kendra hit the ground strokes and I stayed at the net."
Kayla Casey, Kendra's sister, defeated Taylor Hibler of San Saba 6-2, 6-1 for her title.
Kayla Casey has had plenty of role models for success at Franklin. Besides her older sister, Austin Klores completed a four-year run as the boys singles champion last year. Now, she has a shot to do the same.
"Kayla really had a tough row to hoe," Franklin coach Joe Hedrick said. "She played the defending state champion in the first round and all three girls that she beat were here last year."
The bid by Cameron's Brittni Fausett to win state for a third time fell short. Brooke Dennis of Abilene Wylie defeated Fausett in the 3A girls singles championship match, 6-2, 6-2.
Fausett finished a four-year run at state with two gold medals, a bronze and now a silver. She won championships as a freshman and sophomore while playing for Winona.
It was the third loss of the Cameron senior's high school career, with two of those losses coming at the state tournament.
