Lucas Riffe went further than any other singles player in Republic tennis history before being eliminated Thursday at the Class 3 State Tournament in Springfield.
Riffe opened with a win against Aristen Malone of Francis Howell Central 6–1, 7–6 (9–7). That was the first-ever singles win at state for a Republic boys tennis player.
But Riffe’s best match may have been his second, even though it ended in a loss. Riffe faced the top-seeded player in the tournament, David Bell of Pembroke Hill. Bell had cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 first-round win to reach the quarterfinal.
In the first set, Riffe kept Bell off-balance, breaking serve to take a 3-2 lead early. Bell immediately got even with a service break of his own. The key game of the set came at 4-3, when Bell fought through two deuces to break Riffe’s serve again, taking a 5-3 lead before serving out the set, 6-3.
The second set was a series of close games that could have gone either way. Trailing 0-1, Riffe earned three break points but couldn’t finish the game. Bell took a 2-1 lead by breaking Riffe’s serve, and Riffe fell behind 0-40 in the next game. But Riffe won three straight points to stay alive, fought off two more game points, and eventually evened the set 2-2.
The two were tied 3-3 when Bell found his rhythm. He broke Riffe’s serve again, then won another long game on a service ace. He closed it out for a straight-set win, 6-3, 6-3.
Riffe’s final loss came in the consolation second round against Arnab Chakraborty of Marquette. The two players were tied 3-3 in the first set when Chakraborty reeled off three straight games to win 6-3. The second set ended 6-3, as well.
Riffe finishes his sophomore season in a tie for 9th place in Class 3. He lost only four matches on the court all year, plus a fifth match in an injury-related resignation.
Photos by David Brazeal
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