TWHS Tennis made history on October 23, 2025, by winning the State Championship in a tight 10-9 victory over Westwood HS. The final win came after a dominant tournament run, winning over Nimitz (13-0), Cypress Ranch (12-0), Klein Cain (12-0), Tyler Legacy (10-1) and Bridgeland (10-0). This marks the first Houston area championship since Memorial HS in 2019, and the first Tennis State championship in TWHS history. The win ended Westwood’s streak of 3 straight years with State titles (5 of the last 7). TWHS finished with a perfect 19-0 season with the title, topping off the sixth tournament appearance since 2020.
The victory was sweet not only for the players, but also for the coaches. The teams are led by Head Coach Kevin McIlvain and Assistant Coach Brett Kendall. In addition to their state title, these two coaches also earned the 2025 UIL 6A Coach of the Year, and Assistant Coach of the Year awards in November 2025- directly after the big win.
When reflecting on what the contributing differences between this year and past seasons, McIlvain credited it to the team simply believing in their ability in a way they haven’t in the past.
“Since the first practice of the season, I told the team we had the talent to win State. We have been in the State Semifinals five years in a row, but I don’t think the previous teams really believed that we could win the tournament. This year, from the start, I wanted to try to instill the confidence that we were the team to beat” McIlvain said.
McIlvain also spoke highly of the team’s support off the court, cheering on their teammates from the sideline to help rally to victory,
“Each year we try to build our culture where we support each other on the court. We don’t have a lot of fans, so we want the players to cheer on their teammates and try to help them pull through tough matches. As we went into the playoffs and each round became more intense, you could see the players rally around and support each other. We had an incredible atmosphere in the final matches of the State Semifinal and Final” he said.
Coach McIlvain and the entire TWHS tennis team took a well deserved week break to celebrate their achievements, but it won’t be long before they hit the court again to prepare for the spring season.
