Southlake Carroll's historic run to the UIL Class 6A team tennis state championship ended Thursday, Oct. 22, with a 10-7 loss to Houston Memorial at Blossom Tennis Center in San Antonio.

The Dragons won seven of 19 matches in the final but could not overcome Memorial's strength in girls doubles and singles.

It was Carroll's first appearance in a state championship match, according to Dragon Sports Network.

Carroll entered the state tournament at 20-1, Southlake Style reported.

The Dragons beat defending state champion The Woodlands 10-8 in Wednesday's semifinal before falling to Memorial, which claimed its third state title after championships in 2017 and 2019, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Dragons' seven wins

Carroll picked up three doubles victories. Nicholas Zhang and Shrihan Padi won boys doubles 6-3, 6-2. Aaron Stone and Lucas Clubb took a second boys doubles match 7-5, 6-2. Carlos Poggi and Siena Castro added a mixed doubles win, 6-3, 6-2.

Four Dragons won in singles. Rushil Rajpal rolled 6-0, 6-1. Padi won 6-1, 6-3. Caroline Heath earned a 6-4, 6-4 decision, and Isabella De Fazio won 6-3, 6-2.

Two other singles matches went to third-set tiebreakers, and Memorial took both.

Francesco Poggi split the first two sets with Joowon Kim before falling 10-3 in the decider. Carlos Poggi forced a third set against Aiden Yan but lost the tiebreaker 10-6.

A postseason to remember

The championship appearance capped a postseason run that began with three blowouts: 10-0 over Weatherford, 18-0 over El Paso Franklin and 10-0 over Aledo.

The road tightened in regionals. Carroll edged Coppell 10-9 in a rain-delayed match that stretched across two days and came down to a third-set tiebreaker.

The Dragons then outlasted Allen 10-8 in a six-hour regional final.

In Wednesday's semifinal against The Woodlands, Carroll jumped to a 6-2 lead in doubles before the defending champions clawed back.

With the match on the line, senior De Fazio closed out a 6-1, 6-3 singles win to clinch the 10-8 victory and send Carroll to the final.

"Once I saw all my teammates on the fence, I knew it was probably up to me," De Fazio told the Dallas Morning News after the semifinal.

"Definitely feel the pressure, but you also have to be able to keep it down, and focus, and play your game."

Carroll also claimed its 17th consecutive district championship this fall, according to Dragon Sports Network.

Memorial finished 18-1 and won 18 straight matches after its only loss of the season, according to the Houston Chronicle.