It’s not often that athletes do something no one has ever done before at their school, but that’s exactly what Gavin Collyott and Lucas Riffe accomplished last week.
The senior-freshman doubles team made Republic High School history when they became the first Tiger boys tennis players ever to win a match at the state tournament. Collyott and Riffe defeated Wesley Troyer and Aaron Burzynski of Francis Howell 6-2, 6-3 in the first round at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.
After winning the first set comfortably, Collyott and Riffe built a 4-1 lead in the second set and weathered a brief comeback attempt before closing out the match with a service break.
The duo couldn’t maintain their momentum in the quarterfinals, falling to Park Hill’s Andrew Miller and Carter Lovitt, then dropping their consolation match against Fort Zumwalt West in a much closer decision. But their groundbreaking victory secured their place in Republic tennis history and earns them this week’s Performance of the Week honors.
