It’s almost a reset year for Republic boys tennis. Head coach David Smashey retired after a 14-5 season that included a second-place finish in both the COC West and Districts and the first state tournament match win in program history. Four varsity players graduated with him.
Almost a reset. But not quite.
That’s because the lineup returns its No. 1 player in sophomore Lucas Riffe — and the new coach isn’t exactly new. Dan Vales is back as head boys coach after a couple of years away, bringing a cumulative record of 146-54 as a tennis head coach.
Lucas Riffe again anchors the No. 1 spot after a freshman season where he won the vast majority of his matches and teamed with Gavin Collyott to win the district doubles championship, beating Joplin’s top pair 6-4, 6-1. They went on to become the first Republic boys tennis players ever to win a match at the state tournament, knocking off Francis Howell 6-2, 6-3 before falling to Park Hill in the semifinals and Fort Zumwalt West in consolation.
Collyott graduated and is now playing college tennis at Cornell College in Iowa. Riffe is back, and Vales said what he sees is a player who keeps getting better.
“He may be the best ball striker I’ve ever had for boys tennis,” Vales said. “He hits it really hard and consistently. He has a great mindset out there — not too high, not too low.”
Vales said Riffe’s skill development is what separates him. “Every time I see him play, he seems like he’s getting better. He keeps adding tools and ramping up the power. It’s pretty impressive to see that from a sophomore.”
With Collyott gone, Riffe will need a new doubles partner and will carry the singles lineup as well. But he’s already stepped into a leadership role. “Him and Nathan (Henry), as returning varsity guys, they’re out there helping lead stretches,” Vales said. “He’s taking on more of a leadership role now that he’s one of the guys returning.”
Henry is a senior senior who played around the No. 3 or 4 spot last year and is moving up to No. 2 this spring. Vales has watched Henry grow since he was in middle school.
“He’s got a really solid forehand — he can hit it really hard,” Vales said. “The backhand side is not too weak either. A big thing we’re working on this year is building up more consistency along with the power, because it’s gonna be crucial if he plays two or three for us.”
Behind Riffe and Henry, Vales said all four of the top players share a trait: they’re big hitters who like to crush the ball. Raymond DeVries, a junior, and Nevan Kulp, a senior, have moved into the middle of the lineup. The final two varsity spots are an open competition between juniors Evan Wilkinson, Kaden Fisher, and Austin Helm.
That’s where the depth question arises. Republic has 17 or 18 players on the roster, roughly two-thirds returning with a third brand new. Several athletes from other sports have come out for the team and are learning quickly.
“It’s wide open,” Vales said. “You’ve got some pretty good athletes coming in and learning fast versus guys that have a little more experience moving up. That’s the great thing about tennis — it kind of sorts itself out where people need to be.”
Vales said he’s not putting a win-loss target on this team. With so many new players in the lineup and several years away from the boys program himself, he said the landscape across the conference is hard to read. What he wants to see is the overall skill level rise across the board.
“I just want to see us as a program increase our skill level so that six on down, even those JV spots, we feel like we’re super competitive,” he said. “But it is nice having a couple guys at the top we know will be really strong. That gives us a head start in a lot of these matches, and then we’ve just got to try to get to five wins in some of these duals.”
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