The duo comprises 40 percent of the Brownwood contingent that will compete at the Region I-4A tennis tournament in Lubbock next week. Goff is the District 6-4A runner-up in boys singles, while Jonescue and partner Aaliyah Uvalle teamed up to win the 6-4A girls doubles crown.
“I want to say congratulations to both of you,” Brownwood tennis head coach Crystal Blazek said during the ceremony. “You’ve put in hard work, you put in the commitment to stay with the program since seventh grade, and that’s challenging because we do this year round. It’s been fun to watch them grow not only in tennis, but outside of tennis. Their GPAs are great, they’re smart kids that are involved in a lot. I’m just so proud of them for what they’re doing on and off the court here, but I know they’re going to go on to do great things outside of Brownwood High School at HPU. HPU is very lucky to have them and they’ll be great contributors to that program.”
Goff, who has been awarded to the Douglas MacArthur scholarship, knew Howard Payne is where he was headed.
“You can’t really argue with a free education,” Goff said with a laugh. “But I’m also really excited to attend the academy, they have some outstanding programs. I’ve even gotten to work with some of the professors before I officially have them. I’m also really excited to play under Coach (Brandon) Hettick. He’s did an outstanding job of cultivating a great team at (San Angelo) Lake View and now he’s moved here and he’s going to do that same thing.”
Jonescue opted for Howard Payne because of its location.
“I wanted to stay close to home,” Jonescue said. “I’m not really ready to branch out, it’s in my hometown, it’s very small, and I didn’t want a big college. Plus they offer great pathways that I’m interested in and I can stay in town and be with my family until I’m ready to branch out and go off.”
Looking ahead to regional competition, Goff said, “Of the top 15 teams in the state seven are in our region, so it’s incredibly difficult competition. I have a whole lot of respect for the players from Hereford, Canyon and Argyle, but I’m going to do my absolute best to keep winning.”
Jonescue said, “It’s going to be tough, we’ve only been there once before in my sophomore year and last year we got our season taken away from us. With the team we are taking, I think we have a really good shot. For a lot of us, this is our last year so we’re going to go out there and give it our all, whether we make it to state or not.”
Regarding their fondest memories of their times at Brownwood, Goff cited, “The wonderful support of Coach Blazek, Coach (Dalton) Hutchins and Coach (Mark) Davis, but also Coach (Sammie) Courington, who worked with me a lot of summers to improve parts of my game. Also, the community here, the friends I’ve made in Brownwood tennis and all the people that have helped me to improve my game.”
Jonescue added, “It’s definitely the coaches that make it worth it. If you look at the other teams their coaches are constantly yelling at them. It’s very friendly, a family here, and unfortunately I’m having to leave. I’m about to start another family and chapter somewhere else, but this will always be home.”