(File photo by Steve Rackley) Cooper Davis finished off a COC win for the Tigers Monday.

“A Really Great Day:” Tiger Tennis Doubles Up on Wins

The tennis Tigers opened the team district tournament with a win Monday, then finished up a conference win after that was over. The Tigers won their first district dual against Ozark 5-0. They finished the day by finishing a previously suspended match against another conference opponent, edging Willard 5-4.

The day began with a sweep of Ozark in the team district tournament, just three days after Jon Cole and Chase Elder had qualified for state in the individual district tournament as a doubles team.

Monday against Ozark, Republic took control with three doubles wins. The key was a 9-8 win by Elder and Garrett Carpenter in the #1 doubles position. Elder and Carpenter won a tiebreaker 7-2.

Cole and Caleb Long each finished their singles matches as winners, bringing play to a close because Republic had clinched the victory. Republic advances to play Kickapoo in the district semifinal.

After dispatching Ozark, Republic traveled to Willard to complete a suspended match. When play was suspended earlier this year, the teams had each won four matches, with Cooper Davis tied in the deciding match 7-7.

Davis lost the first game, falling behind 8-7, but rebounded to tie the score 8-8 and force a tiebreaker. He fell behind in the tiebreaker, trailing most of the way, but eventually tied the score 5-5, then won the last two points to secure the win.

“Cooper was great in this weird situation,” coach David Smashey said. “When he made mistakes, he just reset and continued to play his game. Even though he was understandably nervous, he played really freely, and I think that was the difference in the match.”

Davis’s strong finish secures a tie for third place in the COC at 7-2.

“(It was) really a great day for our program,” Smashey said. “Even with such a diverse group of personalities, the common thread is that they are all great competitors and they don’t give up.”

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