Cassie Cervantes made the most of her opportunity to outlast a game opponent Monday.
The sophomore from Bentonville West fired winners during key moments in the second set to hold off Little Rock Parkview freshman Emmory Simmons 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of the state Overall tennis tournament at Burns Park in North Little Rock.
Cervantes, who finished third in singles action during the Class 6A state tournament, controlled the first set, but Simmons pushed her in the second.
The two went back and forth until Cervantes got the break point she needed to help her advance into today's semifinal against Valley View's Cydney Rogers, a three-time Class 4A state singles champion.
"It was a really good match," Cervantes said. "It feels good to win any time you play. This was a great environment despite the weather being kind of damp. As long as the court wasn't slippery, I knew I'd be fine.
"But [Simmons] is a really good player. It was definitely a challenge."
Simmons opened eyes at the Class 5A state tournament last week in Hot Springs when she surrendered just three games in her first three matches. She eventually lost in the final to Jonesboro's Jenna Payne, but she said the experience she's getting this early in her career is beneficial.
"I feel just blessed to be out here playing," she said. "With all these great players, it just feels good to be among them. I'm learning as I go because every match I play, I learn something new.
"And that's a big thing for me. I felt like I did pretty good [Monday], could've done better. But overall, it was a good experience that can only help me get better."
Payne, the reigning three-time Class 5A singles champion, shook off a few unforced errors in the second set to beat Lexa Farmer of Haas Hall Bentonville 6-2, 6-0 and advance to the semifinals for the third year in a row. She will take on Kate Files of Fort Smith Northside, a 6-1, 6-0 winner over Pulaski Academy's Joiner Love.
Haas Hall Fayetteville's twosome of Leena Cashman and Naya Kessman wasted little time earning a spot in the doubles semifinals. The tandem was nearly flawless in beating Samantha Holt and Taylor Brossett of West Memphis 6-0, 6-0.
"There were some nerves, though," Kessman said. "There's always nerves. But I thought we settled down and started playing our game. This is big for us, especially me because I'm a freshman, and this is my first year."
Holt and Brossett slipped past Parkers Chapel's Dure Thomas and Macie Wood in three sets earlier in the day. But unforced errors kept them from mounting a charge against Cashman and Kessman, who had not lost a match this season.
"We didn't know anything about [Holt and Brossett]," said Cashman, a sophomore. "We really didn't have any expectations going in, other than how we were going to play. But I thought we did well.
"Hopefully, we'll do even better [today]. We've got to have good attitudes, stay focused and stick to our main strategy."