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Memorial wins State... Again
TITLE CHASERS: Memorial Team Tennis wins State Gold
SAN ANTONIO — The Memorial Mustangs are state champions again, and this time they had to go through the two best programs in Texas to do it.
Memorial knocked off Southlake Carroll 10-7 in the Class 6A final Thursday at Blossom Tennis Center, capping a two-day run through the UIL Team Tennis State Tournament that also included a 10-9 semifinal upset of five-time state champion Round Rock Westwood. It is the third team tennis state title in program history for the Mustangs, who also won it all in 2017 and 2019.
The Mustangs finish the fall 18-1. The lone blemish? A season-opening loss to Westwood — a team Memorial would not see again until the state semifinals. Eighteen straight wins later, head coach Brian Mandell and assistant J.P. Bonilla had their revenge and a spot in the final.
Doubles set the tone
Memorial came out of the doubles round with a 4-3 lead, and it was the girls who did the heavy lifting. Lucy Chung and Katherine Varady opened with a 6-3, 6-4 win at the top line. Zoe Smith and Addison Womac rolled 6-1, 6-0, and Grace Martin and Celeste Hoang were nearly as dominant at 6-0, 6-1. On the boys' side, Yosef Elyashkevich and Nicholas Du handled Carroll's Rushil Rajpal and Francesco Poggi 6-4, 6-2.
Girls singles slam the door, boys singles finish it
The Memorial girls were close to untouchable in singles. Chung won 6-3, 6-3. Martin won 6-3, 6-2. Smith won 6-0, 6-3. Womac closed hers out 6-4, 6-2. Four more points, and the Mustangs were on the doorstep.
The clinching points came the hard way. Joowon Kim dropped his first set 4-6, then stormed back 6-2 and took the match tiebreaker 10-3. Aiden Yan did the same — down 3-6, back 6-3, and a 10-6 tiebreaker that gave Memorial its 10th point and the championship.
The road to San Antonio
The Mustangs did not drop a single match in the first three rounds of the playoffs, blanking Pasadena Dobie 19-0, Barbers Hill 11-0 and Pearland Dawson 10-0. They outlasted Austin Vandegrift 10-7 in the regional semifinal, then beat Fort Bend Clements 10-5 for the regional title and a return trip to state.
In San Antonio, the bracket was loaded. Westwood came in 19-0. The Woodlands, the defending 6A champion, was 16-0 before Southlake Carroll took the Highlanders down 10-8 in the other semifinal. Carroll arrived in the final at 20-1. Memorial beat two of them in two days.
Three state titles in a decade. Eighteen wins in a row. A roster that swept the girls' side of the final and came from behind twice on the boys' side to close it out. In Spring Branch, the Mustangs have built a tennis dynasty — and this group just added the biggest trophy yet.
Program notes: Memorial's three team tennis state championships (2017, 2019, 2026) all came under the UIL's top classification. The 2026 title is the first under coach Brian Mandell.
Alief Elsik's Peytan Lewis
MATCH POINT: Peytan Lewis — Creativity, Competition and a Big Dream
For Elsik tennis standout Peytan Lewis, the game is about much more than winning points.
It’s about creativity. Expression. Competition. And finding new ways to become the best version of herself.
Lewis was introduced to tennis in seventh grade when one of her coaches encouraged her to give the sport a try. What started as something new quickly became a passion.
She tried out for the high school team as a freshman and, despite also playing volleyball, kept coming back to the court. Now a senior, Lewis is still swinging — and she has plenty of goals left to accomplish.
Outside of high school tennis, Lewis competes in USTA tournaments, where the competition is intense and the experience has helped push her game to another level.
Now, she has her sights set on a district championship — and hopefully a trip to the State Tournament.
But Lewis’ ambitions stretch well beyond the tennis court.

A Future in New York
Lewis dreams of playing college tennis, and her dream school is NYU. There’s something about New York that has always captivated her.
“I love the atmosphere,” she said. “When everyone is walking, they have a destination. I love the people.”
She also loves the school and the opportunities that come with being in the heart of New York City. And then there’s her future career.
Lewis wants to pursue law, with a particular interest in entertainment law. Her inspiration? A certain fictional lawyer from Harvard.
“I’ve only watched one law show — Legally Blonde,” she joked. “Elle Woods is my motivation.”
A Creative Spirit
Tennis isn't the only place where Lewis expresses herself. She’s an artist. She participates in orchestra. She loves drawing and coloring, particularly portraits.
For Lewis, there’s a common thread connecting all three passions.
“I really love the creativity of tennis, art and orchestra,” she said. “All three have a way to express yourself.”
She has even dreamed about acting, although she admits that could be a long shot. If that path doesn’t work out, entertainment law could give her a way to combine her love of creativity and her interest in the legal world.
That curiosity is part of what makes Lewis unique.
She admits she’s interested in a lot of different things, but she’s determined to make the most of every opportunity.
Living in the Moment
Ask Lewis about her phone, and you might get a surprising answer.
She’s not glued to it. In fact, she doesn’t watch much television either.
“I’m in the moment,” she said. “I have big FOMO, so I stay off my phone.”
Instead, Lewis stays busy. She works as a barista at the Briar Club in River Oaks, keeps up with school and finds time for tennis, art and orchestra.
Academically, she enjoys pre-calculus and trigonometry. She likes formulas because once they click, they click.
“Once I get it, I get it,” she said.
Exceeding Expectations
At the heart of everything Lewis does is one simple goal: be better than expected.
She wants to remain humble, stay authentic and never stop pushing herself.
“I want to be humble… not humbled,” she said with a laugh. “I want to keep it real. I’m not trying to let people down. I’m looking to impress you. I want to exceed expectations.”
That mindset is what makes Peytan Lewis such an intriguing athlete to watch.
She’s chasing another district title on the tennis court, dreaming about playing at NYU, exploring a future in law and entertainment, creating art, playing orchestra and figuring out exactly where her many talents can take her.
One thing is certain:
Peytan Lewis isn't putting herself in a box.
She’s creating her own path — one swing, sketch, note and dream at a time.
































