Republic’s memorable team tennis season ended in the state sectionals Thursday, when the Tigers lost to Kickapoo 5-1. Republic’s lone win was in the #3 doubles match, where Austin Massey and Logan Elder teamed for an 8-6 win.
The Tigers were among the last 16 teams standing despite the fact that most of their top players from last year graduated in 2016.
“This was a special season for us, to be able to win districts and get to sectionals. We had to rebuild our roster essentially from scratch, losing our top three from last year,” says coach Dan Vales.
A week after the Tigers won their district, though, they ran into a higher level of competition in Kickapoo. The top of the Chiefs’ lineup is among the best in southwest Missouri, and they showed it, dropping just three games to Republic in four sets at the #1 and #2 slots.
Despite the loss, though, Vales says he saw bright spots for next year.
“We knew going in this was going to be a tough one, but I’m proud of the way the guys competed out here. It was definitely a competitive match,” Vales says. “We won one of the doubles matches, and we were up in one of the singles matches when we stopped, so that’s something we can build off of for next year. We have everybody back except for Case, so we’ve got a little momentum going forward into next season.”
Although the team season is over, Case Birlew and Hunter Creek will move on. They’ll compete in doubles at the state tournament at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield next Friday at 8 a.m.
Doubles Scores
- Howard/Zengel d. Birlew/Creek 8-1
- Shelley/Parrish II d. Dylan Mackey/Brett Carpenter 8-0
- Austin Massey/Logan Elder d. Johnston/Arbeitman 8-6
Singles Scores
- Howard d. Birlew 6-0, 6-0
- Zengel d. Mackey 6-2, 6-1
- Shelley d. Creek 6-1, 6-0
- Carpenter v. Parrish 1-6, 4-2 *
- Massey v. Johnston 2-5 *
- Elder v. Arbeitman 3-5 *
*Play stopped when Kickapoo clinched the overall victory.
