Clovis High singles players Jesenia Velez and Audie Rodela for the girls and Andy North for the boys head to Albuquerque today for the Class 5A state individual tennis competition at the Jerry Cline Tennis Center.

Velez, a freshman, earned the No. 5 seed for the 12-player girls bracket and will face Becca Mortenson of Gallup. Meantime, Rodela was one of four players not seeded in the top eight and she drew a first-round matchup against third-seeded Bianca Kang of La Cueva.

Both matches are scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

CHS girls coach Billie Merritt said Velez, with the better draw, has a chance to do well in the tournament.

She probably will have a little bit easier (opponent than Rodela),” Merritt said. “Audie was one of the draws, so she’ll get a tougher match.

“I think our girls can compete. They just have to be mentally tough.”

Winners advance to quarterfinal matches at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Velez would face the winner between Las Cruces High’s Varayini Pankayatselvan and Highland’s Caitlin Stuart, while Rodela and Kang are opposite Erica Sanchez of Cibola and Amber Seay of Hobbs.

Semifinals and finals are also slated for Thursday.

North, meantime, earned a No. 7 seed and will take on Brett Robertson of Manzano in an 8 p.m. matchup. If he wins, he will face either second-seeded Sean Baklini of Elroado or David Garcia of Las Cruces High in an 11 a.m. quarterfinal on Thursday.

On Friday, Clovis is slated to compete in the boys 5A team competition. The Wildcats drew the No. 7 seed in the 10-team competition and face a play-in match against 10th-seeded Manzano, with singles scheduled for 8 a.m. and doubles for 9:30 a.m.

The winner will play second-seeded Mayfield later Friday, with doubles starting at 2 p.m. and singles slated for 3:30 p.m. Semifinals and finals are on tap Satuday.