Cordillera Ranch residents Alexa and Georgia Rice have been playing tennis for about eight years, having been introduced to the game by dad Rodney who played in high school himself. They began competing in local tournaments as pre-teens, and by the time they reached high school, they were state-bound from day one.
Alexa, a 2018 graduate of Boerne High School, went to state all four years of her high school career, finishing 2nd, 2nd, 1st and 1st as a freshman to senior, respectively. In her final state tournament this year, she won every set in her three matches. In her 1st state title, as a junior, she upset the three-time state champion from Fredericksburg, Hannah Boubel. “Alexa lost to her in a 4 1/2 hour, three set match in the finals of regionals and then Alexa beat her 6-4, 6-4 in the final of state. That was an incredible battle. This year she won all of her matches in straight sets and didn’t give us a heart attack,” says Rodney.
Georgia, who just completed her sophomore year at Boerne High School, teamed with Catherine Coe to win girls doubles at district, regionals and state. Though they lost a set in the finals of regionals and the semi-finals of state against Wylie High School, being down 4-2 in the 3rd set, they came back to win 6-4. “Wylie has won state in team tennis (in the fall) the last two years in a row. We knocked out their #1 players in girls’ singles, girls’ doubles and boys’ singles all in the semis of individual state,” says Rodney in another proud moment. The boys’ singles was won by Ryan Koth, a fellow sophomore at Boerne High School.
Alexa is now preparing for her freshman year at UT Austin where she will major in Human Dimensions of Organization. She’s not playing varsity tennis at UT but has decided to play club tennis for the University and keep enjoying her love of the game. The latter part of Georgia’s summer will be spent at Yosemite National Park, participating in a photography program through National Geographic, but her early summer will be spent on a project near and dear to her. For the past three years, she has organized and led a summer camp called Nothing But Girls. Appropriate for four- to nine-year-old girls, proceeds from the camp are donated to a local charity. Last year, the Women’s Shelter was the lucky recipient. With two more years of high school tennis, expect to see more wins from Georgia!
