Carlos Aguilar didn't have much luck when it came to the draw of the Texas Summer Grand Slam.
The graduate of A&M Consolidated who played No. 1 for the Tigers this spring was matched up against one of the No. 17 seeds in his opening round
That's not usually a daunting task. But then not many 17th seeds of a state tournament have signed to play with perennial NCAA powerhouse Georgia.
San Antonio Alamo Heights' Will Oliver, who will play for Georgia in the fall, beat Aguilar 6-1, 6-2.
"I've been out for six months with a knee problem," Oliver said. "I had knee surgery so that put me out for six or seven months and this is my first tournament back and I think my ranking dropped a little bit.
"My serve has come back, which I'm very thankful because it's one of the strengths of my game, that and then the forehand. Really all my strokes feel the same. It's just the movement is a little bit off. That's definitely been the toughest part. It's more psychological because I'm kind of afraid to put all the pressure on my knee."
Oliver used his big serve in tight situations, reaching double-digits in aces.
Aguilar recognized early he would have to counter Oliver's serve if he was going to stay in the match.
"Right off the bat I knew I had to hold, but I didn't accomplish that until the fifth game of the first set," Aguilar said. "He has a big serve, and I couldn't break him. If I held first, then I would have had a better chance, but my serve suffered today."
Aguilar played much better in the second set, having a game point on all of his serves but one. He aced Oliver to pull within 2-1 and later hit an ace, a forehand winner and won the game with a drop shot to keep the match going.
Aguilar's best opportunity for a break came in the final game, but again Oliver came up with the big serve when needed.
Temperatures on Saturday reached 97 degrees and Oliver and Aguilar started their match at 3:45 p.m.
Oliver reached the quarterfinals last summer at the Texas Summer Grand Slam.
Oliver advanced to play Amarillo's Ernie Hayhurst at noon Sunday at Texas A&M's Mitchell Tennis Center.
Aguilar will face Sugar Land's Jarred Pendleton at 3:20 p.m. Sunday in the consolation bracket.
Another Consol graduate, Nathan Cooner, also fell in the opening round, dropping a 6-1, 6-1 match to Abilene's Erich Bein.
Cooner won the first game but was unable to dictate the match from behind the baseline while Bein strung together nine straight games.
Bein faces a No. 17 seed, McKinney's Carlos Florez, at 11:40 a.m. Sunday. Cooner will play Buda's Dylan Randazzo at 3:40 p.m.
On the 18 girls side, former Consol No. 1 Anik Cepeda rolled in her opening singles match, defeating Tai Lucero of Odessa 6-0, 6-2.
Cepeda, a No. 9 seed, will face Sherman's Emma Whitfield at 11:40 a.m. Sunday at Pebble Creek Country Club.
Franklin's Kendra Casey lost her opening match in the Girls 18 to Houston's Jacinta Leyden 6-4, 6-2.
Casey will play Canyon's Lindsey Sweetgall at 10:20 a.m. at Pebble Creek.
Kayla Casey defeated Adrienne Gleck, 6-0, 6-4 in the opening round and then was pushed to the consolation bracket by No. 17 Sarafina Nance, 6-2, 6-0. Casey will face Emily Lobnitz at 10 a.m. at Aerofit Heath Club on Carter Creek.
Carrie Casey, in the Girls 14, was the most successful of the Franklin contingent, defeating Kati Mdzinarishvili, 6-4, 6-1 and then Dallas' Sommer Champion, 7-5, 6-4. She will play Cypress' Courtney Anderson at noon on Sunday at Sam Rayburn Middle School.
College Station's Kristina Raphael (Girls 14) matched Casey, advancing two rounds with victories over Houstonites Nava Nowamooz, 6-1, 6-4 and Kelsey Van Noy 6-3, 6-4. She will play San Angelo's Claire Williams, a No. 9 seed, at noon at Sam Rayburn Middle School.
College Station's Frankie Colunga (Boys 14) fell in his opener to Kingwood's Tyler Flematti. He will play at 8 a.m. at Jane Long Middle School.
In the Boys 12, Marco Cepeda opens play against Nathan Kodura of Spring at 8 a.m. at A&M Consolidated High School.