From March 29 to March 30, the Mavericks dominated the court and field throughout their trip to Austin. The softball, baseball, tennis and lacrosse teams went undefeated against the various Austin schools they played against.

The softball team stomped St. Andrew’s School with a 21-3 win. Although the Mavericks had a successful game, they faced wind, rain and their opponent’s slow pitcher. According to captain Sophie Lazear, the Mavericks “remained patient” against the St. Andrew’s Crusaders and adapted to the speed, which allowed the team to get many strong hits and score 14 runs in the first inning.

“[Concentration became] the most challenging part, so staying energized in the dugout and on the field was our biggest obstacle,” freshman pitcher Leah Beach said.

Maverick baseball also had a strong weekend against St. Stephen’s and St. Andrew’s, winning two games 9-2 and 16-7, respectively. Captain Matthew Kushwaha credits strong batting and sophomore Matt Fleming’s pitching for five innings with the victory against St. Andrew’s.

“Coach Everts has done a great job of rotating the pitchers, so we were all able to stay fresh and rested without getting tired or putting too much stress on our arms,” Fleming said.

According to Fleming, the team went to Austin with the mindset that they were just like any other team and still needed to bring their A-game to win. This allowed them to remain focused throughout both games, which helped the team achieve the two wins.

Girls’ tennis won 4-1 against St. Stephen’s and 5-0 against St. Andrew’s. Boys’ tennis won 3-2 against St. Stephen’s and 4-1 against St. Andrew’s.

Although the boys lost the first two lines of the St. Stephen’s match, they recovered when their No. 1 doubles bested their contenders in the second and third sets. Two other wins followed the nerve-wracking line to seal the overall victory.

“I am most proud of how our guys hung in there and came back to win,” head coach Steve Gleaves said.

These victories help the Mavs’ seeding in the Southwest Preparatory Conference. Girls’ tennis was first South Zone seed last year in the conference, and they are aiming for the same strong performance this year.

“We are playing more practice matches, focusing on doubles and using a lot of new strategies,” captain Shelby Jordan said.

The team has experimented with different doubles formations to force their opponents to hit shots other than a usual cross-court return, which proved to be effective against opponents’ mentality and ball movement predictions in Austin. According to freshman Lauren Campbell, the team has also been perfecting a “serve, return, approach, volley” tactic – a more aggressive approach to doubles – to switch up their playing style if a previous strategy was failing.

Girls’ and boys’ lacrosse went undefeated in Austin. St. Stephen’s provided little challenge for both teams, with the girls and boys taking 17-1 and 22-4 victories, respectively.

After coming off a huge win against Lamar on Thursday night and their game against St. Stephen’s on Friday, girls’ lacrosse was a little worn down by Saturday in their fight against Vandegrift High School. Halfway through their game, cold and rain swept in, which forced the team to quickly adapt to the difficulty. However, the Mavericks pulled through with a final goal in the last 30 seconds to secure the 11-10 victory.

Captain Alexandra Lewis attributes the success of the games in Austin to accomplishing their team goals of improving communication on defense and keeping good composure on and off the field.

Boys’ lacrosse faced Lake Travis High School in their second game. Though their opponents were more difficult than St. Stephen’s, they obtained the victory with a two goal lead. The win highlighted the team’s grit and pointed to what they could work on in preparation for SPC.

“Our biggest challenge as a team was playing as a collective unit, and we still have a lot of work to do,” captain Ashton Anton said.

Although each team’s expectations for SPC vary, their victories in Austin bode well for the conference.