Drawn into arguably the toughest pool in league history, the Ranchers finished eighth and left Florida with four standings points.
Some weekends are decided before the first serve, when the pool draw lands.
St. Petersburg handed the Ranchers what may have been the most difficult group in the league’s history, in their second event in as many weeks, and the fatigue of the turnaround showed. Texas finished eighth overall and left Florida with four standings points — the club’s thinnest return of the season.
The frustration was in the margins. This was not a team that got outclassed; it was a team that lost the close ones in a bracket where every opponent was a contender and there was no soft landing anywhere on the schedule.
The response would come quickly. New York was seven days away.
