A new kid in town, Becker cruises to Overall singles title

Pulaski Academy's Noah Becker walked off the Court 18 at Burns Park Tennis Center in North Little Rock on Tuesday with a plaque in his hand.

The senior tennis player had just defeated Jonesboro's Joe Patton 6-1, 6-2 to become the boys singles Overall state champion, not dropping more than two points in a set over three matches in two days.

But for Becker, the moment was even better because he had friends to celebrate alongside.

"I only just got to Little Rock," Becker said. "I'm more glad to know I have these guys."

Becker's family moved to Little Rock last summer. Prior to the move, Becker was carving out his place as a standout young tennis player, working for several years at the Gomez Tennis Academy in Naples, Fla.

Now a five-star tennis recruit according to the Tennis Recruiting Network, Becker's final high school season was spent with the Bruins before heading to play his college years on scholarship at Notre Dame.

For Becker's private tennis coach, Thomas Andersson, there was little doubt that Becker take a state title.

"He's a really, really hard-working kid, in school and as an athlete," Andersson said. "He's just a super person. He makes everybody around him better because of his work ethic. I think he raised that group of kids he's around on an everyday basis."

Becker's final win came after defeating Episcopal Collegiate's Keeton Dassinger on Monday 6-0, 6-2 and beating Springdale Har-Ber's Carter Swope 6-2, 6-1 on Tuesday morning.

GIRLS SINGLES

In 2020, Bentonville West's Cassie Cervantes landed a third-place Overall finish to end her sophomore season. A year later, she defeated Jonesboro's Jenna Payne 6-4, 6-2 to take the girls singles Overall title.

"I've come a long way as a player," Cervantes said. "So I'm really proud of that progress."

Cervantes said a lot of her growth came mentally, and learning to have a positive attitude as much as possible was a big part of her success.

Cassie's father, Manuel Cervantes, is a United State Professional Tennis Association professional, and was on hand to see his daughter win her first Overall state championship. He said he couldn't be more proud of her success.

"I knew this match could be very, very tough for Cassie," Manuel said. "She came up with a good strategy, she stayed mentally tough and got it done. ... Hopefully she'll keep it up, stay motivated, stay fired up and keep getting better."

BOYS DOUBLES

Stefan Tudoreanu and Alex Wells of Little Rock Central defeated Ethan Richardson and Carson Fowler of Jonesboro 6-4, 7-6 for the Overall boys doubles title.

Tudoreanu and Wells defeated Shawn-Hudson Seegraves and Brandon Palmer of Piggott, and Nathaniel Byrd and Jake Rogers of Pulaski Academy to advance to Tuesday's final.

GIRLS DOUBLES

JK Bohnert and Grace Lueders of Rogers took the Overall girls doubles yitle after defeating Khushi Patil and Caroline Lasley of Little Rock Central 6-1, 6-1.

Bohnert and Lueders gave up just 7 points in six sets over two days, beating Lauren Guadamuz and Ella McPike of Jonesboro 6-4, 6-1 in Tuesday's semifinal and Rebekah Hardy and Madison Sullivan of Parkers Chapel in their long match Monday.