Senior Gavin Collyott and freshman Lucas Riffe stormed through the Class 3 District 5 tournament at Joplin on Friday, capturing Republic’s first boys doubles championship since 2017 with a commanding performance against some of the area’s top competition.
After receiving a first-round bye and defeating a team from Kickapoo in the second round, the Republic duo faced Nick Psarev and Edgard Levy of Ozark in the semifinals. A win would guarantee a berth in the state tournament, and Collyott and Riffe delivered with a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
The Republic team jumped ahead 5-2 in the first set before Ozark pushed back. At 5-3, Psarev and Levy had two break points, but Collyott and Riffe rallied with three straight points of their own to close out the set. In the second set, the Republic pair built a 4-1 lead before closing out the match 6-2, despite Collyott breaking a racket early in the set.
In the championship match against Joplin’s Adam Badr and Leif Garrity, Republic surged to a 3-0 first-set lead. Joplin fought back to 5-4 before Republic broke serve to claim the set 6-4.
The second set saw Republic take control early, going up 2-0 with a service win from Collyott and a break. After Joplin broke back to make it 2-1, Republic responded with another break for a 3-1 lead. Collyott won his service game with four straight points to extend the lead to 4-1.
Riffe then delivered back-to-back highlight plays to break Joplin again for a 5-1 advantage. First, he executed a perfectly placed drop shot volley, then followed with a winner smashed down the middle of the court. The freshman served out the match as Republic claimed the title with a 6-4, 6-1 victory.
Badr and Garrity had beaten Republic in their first meeting this season, but Republic has won two meetings since then with more aggressive play.
“I think it was just challenging them as much as possible,” Collyott said of their approach.
“Not being… timid and gentle,” Riffe added.
For Collyott, a senior, the championship was particularly meaningful after coming up short in previous years.
“It feels really good knowing that I’ve gotten better since then and that I actually am seeing the results,” he said.
This marks Republic’s first boys district doubles championship since 2017, when (https://republictigersports.com/2017/05/19/creek-birlew-finish-3rd-in-state-tennis-tournament/).
Collyott and Riffe will advance to the state tournament. They’ll also lead Republic during the team district tournament next week.
