On Oct. 10, Stella de Vera (12) and the girls tennis team won the 6A state tournament for singles and teams, respectively, at home in front of fans.
After getting second place last year, de Vera returned with a focus on practice and was determined to win, especially at home as this was the first time Heritage hosted the state tournament in a decade.
As the no. 1 seed after the conference tournament, de Vera received a bye in the first game. In the second round, de Vera won against Mary Claire Wooldridge from Conway (6-1,6-0), advancing to the semi-finals. The next day, de Vera competed against Evie Sandlin from Fayetteville and qualified for finals after winning 6-0, 6-1.
In the final match against Caroline Jones from North Little Rock, de Vera won the first set 6-3. However, Jones kept her focus and forced a third set after winning the second 6-4.
With the pressure of potentially repeating the outcome of the 2022 state tournament and falling short during finals, de Vera drew confidence from her cheering teammates and a the crowd of Heritage students, which grew as school was dismissed.
The pressure was on in the final set, but de Vera played phenomenally. Each ball she hit was calculated and intentional. Ultimately, de Vera prevailed. She won the third set 6-2, clenching the state championship. This was the first individual state championship for tennis that Heritage has had since 2011*.
“Considering I’ve been playing since I was four, winning state justified all the work I’ve put in and was a way to show my achievements in tennis to my coaches and family,” de Vera said. “I’m a fourth generation tennis player on my dad’s side, and I felt like I had to win to honor my ancestors.”
The singles victories by de Vera contributed to the seven team points earned by HHS girls tennis, resulting in their co-state championship with Bentonville High School.
After being selected as an all-state athlete, de Vera competed and won the overall individual tennis championship, again defeating Jones in finals after splitting sets, with a score of 6-1, 2-6, 6-3. She ended her high school tennis career as the conference, state, and overall champion for all of Arkansas.
“Coaching Stella has been amazing,” Coach Taylor Tinsley said. “She is the type of person and athlete that every coach wants to have on their team. She is a great leader and teammate and does everything the right way.”
After a successful senior season, de Vera has begun to consider whether she will continue to play tennis in college.
“I would like to play college tennis at an art school,” she said. “I want to major in industrial design and be a famous athletic footwear or clothing designer for name brand athletic sportswear companies. Playing tennis while studying art would be a dream.”
