Republic lost all three doubles matches on a windy and cold night of tennis against Willard, and that led to a 6-3 defeat in the Central Ozark Conference (COC) opener on Tuesday.
Coach David Smashey said Tuesday was “a day we really needed to play well in doubles,” but the Tigers let “winnable matches… get away from us.”
Republic and Willard split their singles matches, with Cooper Davis continuing his strong season start and winning his second singles match of the year. Austin Hardcastle and Cooper Choate also picked up wins.
“I thought Cooper Choate was able to relax a little bit and find a good rhythm in his singles match,” Smashey said. “He hit his forehand really well and managed the match intelligently to get the singles win.”
Willard won the JV matches 8-7.
Republic’s varsity falls to 0-2. The Tigers host Webb City Thursday.
Varsity Match Results
No. 1 doubles L Collyott/Choate 2-8
No. 2 doubles L Carpenter/McCord 6-8
No. 3 doubles L Davis/Nathan Henry 7-9
No. 1 singles L Gavin Collyott 1-8
No. 2 singles L Garrett Carpenter 3-8
No. 3 singles W Cooper Davis 8-6
No. 4 singles W Cooper Choate 8-3
No. 5 singles W Austin Hardcastle 8-6
No. 6 singles L Andrew McCord 4-8
