Kevin Wright was late coming to organized tennis, but he sure made himself at home after getting there.

Wright started playing competitive tennis later than most of his A&M Consolidated teammates, but he will be among nine Consol players competing in the Class 5A Region II tournament in Waco on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Tigers will have at least one entry in every division, attempting to finish in the top two and earn trips to the UIL state tournament.

Bryan will send one singles player and a doubles team to the regional meet.

Many, perhaps most, of the players who qualified for the 5A regionals started playing junior tennis while they were in middle school or before. Wright took up the sport as a high school freshman.

"I was a football player, a running back," Wright said. "I don't think my parents liked me playing football too much, getting beat up. My parents have always been big tennis fans. They tell me that before I was born, my dad said he wanted to give birth to a tennis pro. My grandpa actually made his spending money in college giving tennis lessons."

As a youngster, Wright would hit tennis balls with his father. He didn't play on a team or take lessons until the middle of his freshman year at Consol. Wright made the junior varsity team and won one of the first tournaments in which he played, and he was hooked.

Wright captured the District 13-5A singles championship two weeks ago and has accepted a scholarship offer to play collegiate tennis at UT-Tyler.

"Now my biggest regret is not starting a lot earlier," Wright said.

Last year, Wright earned a trip to regionals playing mixed doubles. He wanted to play singles as a senior to show his talent to prospective college recruiters.

Consol began the school year with six or seven boys fairly close in ability. Wright went undefeated playing near the bottom of the singles lineup during the fall season and made a major push for one of the top two singles slots early this semester.

"Towards the end of the fall, and particularly as we came back out in the spring, he just started playing really, really well," Consol coach Stephen Mercer said. "Kevin is one of those players who's really on or really off. He came out early in the spring really on. It could be the same thing at regionals. If he's off, he'll lose [in the] first round. But if he's on, he could have a shot at winning the whole thing."

Four years ago, when Wright was interested in hitting linebackers instead of overheads, the prospect of competing for a trip to the state tennis tournament would have seemed impossible.

"I remember going to a JV tournament and thinking the other kids were really good," Wright said. "I never would have seen this."

NOTES -- 13-5A champion Anik Cepeda and runner-up Heather Brien will represent Consol in girls singles at regionals. The Tigers' regional contingent will include district champs Kevin Duffy and David Hillner in boys doubles, Jessica Raphael and Mariah York in girls doubles, plus Amanda Trapani and Nathan Cooner in mixed doubles. Cooner, Raphael, Cepeda and Wright reached the regional tournament last year.

For Bryan, Brady Atkins and Matt Hillestad will play boys doubles, with Michael Martin competing in boys singles. Hillestad is making his third consecutive trip to regionals.

• Larry Bowen's e-mail address is larry.bowen@theeagle.com.

WRIGHT UP CLOSE

FAVORITE FOOD: A good cheeseburger

FAVORITE TEACHER: Jason Pratt, economics

DREAM JOB: Tennis pro

FAVORITE MOVIE: Lord of the Rings

ATHLETE I MOST ADMIRE: Andre Agassi