Republic’s doubles team of Aubree Tinsley and Mati Carpenter will represent the Lady Tigers at the state tennis tournament beginning today in Springfield.
The pair qualified by finishing among the top two at the individual district tournament earlier this month.
Tinsley and Carpenter are one of Republic’s most consistent pairs this season, having played together from the start. “We’re actually one of the only doubles teams that hasn’t been switched around,” Carpenter said. “We started at doubles team two, and then we moved up to the first spot. That really helped our confidence.”
The two had been pushing to team up since last year. “We kept begging Coach (David) Smashey to put us together,” Carpenter said.
Their chemistry has been a strength throughout the season. “We can just be goofy but at the same time take things serious,” Tinsley said. “If we have a bad point, we’ll just laugh it off and come back in and know what we need to do to get the next one.”
They say communication and complementary skills have made the difference. “Aubree is definitely better at the net—she’ll go for every ball she can and just kill it,” Carpenter said.
“And she’s way better at the back line than I am,” Tinsley said of Carpenter. “Her defense is way stronger. So she can defend, and I can just finish off what she leaves for me.”
Carpenter and Tinsley will open state competition against Emily and Mary Sublette of Lafayette (Wildwood) Thursday morning.
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