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It's not often you hear a young woman born in Indiana yell out "vamos" or "olé" on the tennis court.
Anik Cepeda's father, Antonio, was born and raised in Spain, though, so when times get tough on the court, Cepeda will bark out a few words in Spanish to try and get herself back in the match.
"'Vamos,' like, 'Let's go, come on pull yourself together. It's hot out here, lets get off the court.' It's to refocus myself," Cepeda said. "I'm fluent in Spanish and I cheer myself on a lot in Spanish."
Although Cepeda wasn't overly pleased with her performance Sunday during her second match of the Texas Summer Grand Slam, she didn't have to refocus too often in a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Emma Whitfield of Sherman in the Girls 18 division at Pebble Creek Country Club.
"I was pretty frustrated. It's my last [junior] tournament and there should be no pressure, but I put a lot of pressure on myself still," Cepeda said. "I just need to be [hitting] through my shots and really hitting up on my serve and I wasn't doing that. I missed some easy volleys and it's one of those matches that should be routine but you get a little unfocused and it's a matter of getting through it."
With two straight-set victories behind her, Cepeda, fresh off winning a silver medal at the UIL Class 5A state tournament for A&M Consolidated, will face Ariel Morton of Houston in the round of 16. Cepeda is a No. 9 seed and Morton is seeded No. 4. The two will meet at 2:40 p.m. Monday at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
"Last year was a nightmare draw and this year I'm just glad to get through two rounds and have a good shot [Monday]," Cepeda said. "I fell to her a couple years back. I didn't play very well, so tomorrow I'll be hitting out completely, no pressure. I've played her a couple of times and only beaten her once a long, long time ago."
Cepeda jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Whitfield, lost her serve at 3-1 and then broke back immediately before serving out the first set at 6-3. She shouted "Olé!" and then barked out "Vamos!" as the two walked toward the bench for the crossover.
Cepeda and Whitfield exchanged breaks to open the second set and then Cepeda broke again. Getting to 3-1 was a chore, though, and after a couple of deuces, Cepeda aced Whitfield to take control.
The competitive Cepeda looked up and said, "Finally," after gaining the game. She also heard it from her favorite fan -- her mother, Lisa -- who is from Wisconsin but studied Spanish.
"She's saying vamos Anik, a little exasperated because she knows I'm not playing my game," Cepeda said. "It's frustrating for her, too, and I want to play good for the people that come and watch me, and at the same time I've got to do what I've got to do out on the court."
The two swapped breaks again before Cepeda moved to 5-2 with a backhand winner at the net. Cepeda then served it out routinely for the match.
"I'm working on being more aggressive but that didn't come today, so again, disappointed," said Cepeda, who took control at the net more as the match progressed. "Yeah, you have to have that mentality, that I'm going to attack. Volleying is one of my strengths, so if I can get myself to the net I have a pretty good chance of winning every point."
Win or lose the rest of the way, Cepeda is looking forward to taking that aggressive mentality to William & Mary, where she will play this fall for Meredith Geiger-Walton, former director of the tennis academy at the St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin.
"I'm excited for school. I met the team and the team is so nice and we keep in touch," Cepeda said. "One of [the coach's] friends saw me play at the nationals and said, 'You might be interested in this girl.' So I got really lucky. She said I was a good fit, so I'm going there and I feel I'll do well there."
On the boys' side of the Grand Slam, former Consol No. 2 Nathan Cooner won his first consolation match, defeating Dylan Randazzo 6-2, 6-3. Carlos Aguilar, the Tigers' No. 1 player as a senior, was ousted by Jarred Pendleton of Sugar Land 7-6 (2), 6-2.
Kendra Casey of Franklin won two matches in the girls 18 consolation bracket, defeating Canyon's Lindsey Sweetgall 6-1, 6-0 and Richardson's Claire Bulkeley 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (7). She will face Angela Rachel of Katy at noon Monday at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
Kayla Casey went 1-1 again on Sunday, as she did on Saturday. The Class 2A champion as a freshman defeated Sunnyvale's Emily Lobnitz 6-1, 6-3 in the Girls 16 consolation bracket before being eliminated by Trophy Club's Katya Salas 6-2, 6-1.
Franklin's Carrie Casey made it into the Girls 14 round of 16 with her third straight victory, a 7-5, 6-2 win over Cypress' Courtney Anderson. The unseeded Casey will play No. 5 Nan Porter of Amarillo at 11 a.m. Monday at Sam Rayburn Middle School.
Frankie Colunga of College Station was eliminated in the Boys 14 by Dallas' John Mee, 6-4, 6-0.
In the Girls 14, College Station's Kristina Raphael lost to Claire Williams, a No. 9 seed from San Angelo, 6-1, 6-0 in the round of 32.
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NOTES -- Cepeda doesn't only speak Spanish, she cheers for Spanish teams. She's had a lot to cheer about lately with Spain's soccer team winning the European Championship and her favorite club team, Barcelona, claiming the Champions League title. ... Cepeda's younger brother, Marco, begins his singles play at 8 a.m. Monday at A&M Consolidated. ... Anik Cepeda moved away from Indiana at age 3 and lived one year -- fifth grade -- in Spain.
