Kaitlyn Snyder and Kaytlin Pearce had found ways to win close matches all season long. Friday at the state tournament, their luck ran out. Snyder and Pearce found themselves on the losing end of two close matches, ending one of the best girls tennis seasons in Republic history.
The Republic duo came out strong in their opening match against Abby and Chloe Norris of Park Hill South. Snyder and Pearce got a quick service break in the opening game, thanks to three double faults. Snyder held serve in the second game, fighting through two deuces to take a 2-0 lead. In the third game, Pearce’s strong service returns and Snyder’s powerful ground strokes kept the Norrises back on their heels, leading to another service break and a 3-0 lead. When Pearce held serve easily in the fourth game, it looked like Republic would cruise into the winner’s bracket.
But the Park Hill South team found its footing and won three straight games. They dropped the next, giving Republic a 5-3 lead, but from there, Park Hill South didn’t lose another game, going on to an 8-5 victory.
The second match of the game was close as well. Snyder and Pearce took the lead against, winning a tiebreaker 7-4 against Alyson Piskulic and Andrea Luziac of Mehlville. Piskulic and Luziac fought back to win the second set (6-1) and force a super-tiebreaker, which they won 10-3.
The state appearance for Pearce and Snyder was the capper to a season that saw the Lady Tigers set a new regular-season record for victories. It also marked the final appearance as a Lady Tiger tennis player for Pearce, who will graduate in the spring.
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