PHOTOS BY GABE WOLF Caleb Wales waves goodbye to a crowd of supporters who gathered outside Bozarth-Fowler Gymnasium to see the team off on Thursday afternoon. Sometimes it is all about the luck of the draw.

Coming two votes shy of earning an eighth seed at its first-ever trip to regionals, the Lampasas tennis team's name was put into a hat for random selection to determine the tournament's remaining matchups.

Lampasas found itself on the opposite side of some stiff competition on opening day and fell into an early hole before claiming 13th place in San Antonio on Saturday.

"Our first trip to regionals and a great end to the fall tennis season," coach Kenneth Peiser said. "The kids did great, tried hard and were very sore after playing eight matches over two days, which means they gave it everything they had.

"That is all we ask for."

After being denied the eighth slot and an easier first-round opponent, Lampasas drew Dripping Springs as its opening adversary.

Needing just 10 matches to move on to the next round, Dripping Springs quickly disposed of Lampasas 10-0.

Jessica Baker zeros in on her target during her Friday afternoon match against Floresville. Lampasas lost its first two matches on Friday before bouncing back on Saturday. Despite the shutout, Peiser was pleased with his team's performance after it overcame some early jitters.

"The speech before we went out there was: Play hard, do not give up, stay aggressive, chase everything down, and you will be pleased with your play," the coach said. "Our players played extremely hard, stayed aggressive and fought for every point, but it was not enough to capture a win."

Friday afternoon, in the second round, Lampasas faced Floresville.

Abby Peterson and Lillie Davis easily took their doubles match, and Macy McPherson/Katy Shaw won their match as well. But Zach McKenzie and Nick Baker could not overcome a tough duo, falling in three sets.

Jessica Baker and Alvin Aleman were victorious in mixed action, but with the team trailing 3-4 heading into singles competition, Lampasas failed to make up ground and lost the match 10-5.

The loss dropped Lampasas into the consolation bracket, making 13th place the best possible finish.

Lampasas quickly shook off the opening day's losses and focused on posting a perfect performance on day two.

Against San Antonio Edison, the squad pounced early, winning six out of seven doubles matches before singles victories from Peterson, Amy Johnson, Zach Holcomb and McPherson clinched the 10-1 victory.

Lampasas made a quick turnaround, facing Brackenridge shortly afterward in order to complete the long weekend a little earlier than scheduled.

The lack of rest had no ill effects for the squad.

"Our players went right back out and played great," Peiser said. "Playing their seventh match of the weekend, they went back to work."

Lampasas swept the boys' and girls' doubles matches but lost in mixed doubles, giving it a commanding 6-1 lead.

It took Lampasas just four singles matches to win the round and earn the second-day sweep.

Peterson (6-2), McPherson (6-1), Davis (6-2) and Shaw (6-0) all recorded at least six wins during regionals on the girls' side while McKenzie (4-3), Baker (4-4) and Holcomb (4-2) were the boys' top performers.