The Republic tennis team defeated Carthage 7-2 in a Central Ozark Conference match on Thursday. The win evened Republic’s record for the week, after a loss at Joplin Tuesday.
In doubles action at Carthage, Republic’s Gavin Collyott and Andrew McCord won 8-6 at the No. 2 position, while Cooper Davis and Austin Hardcastle emerged victorious at No. 3.
The singles matches saw strong performances from Republic throughout the lineup. Collyott and Garrett Carpenter both won their matches 8-4 at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. Cooper Choate and Hardcastle battled to 9-7 wins at the No. 4 and No. 5 positions, while McCord dominated his opponent 8-0 at No. 6 singles. Davis suffered the team’s only singles loss, falling 6-8 at the No. 3 spot.
“Very competitive match despite the overall score line,” said Republic coach David Smashey. “I think winning the No. 2 doubles was really important. That got us into the singles up 2-1.”
Smashey praised the performance of McCord, who played a key role in the victory. “Andrew McCord was really good today—winning the key No. 2 doubles match and then winning 8-0 at six singles. It’s a real luxury having that good of an athlete playing No. 6.”
Earlier in the week, Republic suffered an 8-1 loss against Joplin in another COC matchup. The Tigers’ junior varsity team won at both Joplin and Carthage.
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