Fresh off back-to-back victories, the Republic tennis team faces a tough test tonight in a Central Ozark Conference (COC) showdown at Nixa.
Republic picked up victories over Glendale and Carl Junction last week. The Tigers beat Glendale 7-2 last Wednesday before defeating Carl Junction 8-1 on Thursday.
In the win over Carl Junction, Republic swept the doubles matches. The No. 1 team of Garrett Carpenter and Cooper Choate prevailed 9-8 (7-4) in a tiebreaker. Gavin Collyott and Andrew McCord won 8-2 at No. 2 doubles, while Cooper Davis and Austin Hardcastle cruised to an 8-0 win at No. 3.
Republic won five of six singles matches against Carl Junction, with Carpenter, Davis, Choate, Hardcastle and McCord all winning. Collyott suffered the team’s lone loss, falling 5-8 at No. 1 singles.
At the Waynesville Tournament, Collyott bounced back to win the Flight One Singles championship, defeating top players from Capital City, Waynesville and Rolla. Hardcastle finished second in Flight Two Singles, losing in the final to a Rolla player he had beaten earlier in the day.
“Gavin beat three really good players to win it,” said Republic coach David Smashey. “He really focused well on each point all day long. A fantastic win for Gavin and our program.”
The Tigers, now 4-4 on the season, travel to Nixa (4-6) as they look to extend their winning streak to three matches.