Elsie Crawford is a district champion for the second season in a row. Crawford swept through the Class 3 District 5 individual district tournament Friday, earning her second straight trip to the state tournament. She’ll be the first-ever Republic tennis player to compete in the Class 3 tournament. She qualified in Class 2 singles last year.
Crawford was the only Republic player to advance out of individual districts, but the Lady Tigers will continue their season with team districts next week. Republic is seeded second behind Springfield Central. The Lady Tigers open play with a match against seventh-seeded Waynesville at home Monday.
Republic’s top doubles team, Abby McCord and Morgan Lewis, advanced to the semifinals before being eliminated. The Lady Tigers’ #2 singles player, Jasmine Howard, played what was probably the best match of the day, coming up short in a third-set tiebreaker, 16-14, that knocked her out of the bracket.
For Republic, Crawford’s trip to state marks the sixth season in a row that at least one player has advanced to state in singles or doubles.
Photos by David Brazeal
