Second-seeded Thomas Jefferson defeated third-seeded Webb City 5-0 in a semifinal contest of the Class 2 District 7 boys tennis tournament on a warm Tuesday at the TJ courts.
The undefeated Cavaliers, who improved to 12-0, will travel to Kansas City to play top-seeded Barstow at 4:30 on Wednesday for the district championship.
On Tuesday, the Cavaliers swept all three doubles matches and ended the dual with two singles victories.
At No. 1 doubles, Thomas Jefferson’s Prithvi Nagarajan and Devan Murali defeated Webb City’s Jacob McDonald and Tristan Lynch 8-3.
At No. 2 doubles, TJ’s Tyler Brouhard and Chengle Qian beat Felipe Perez-Trevor Peterson 8-2.
Jack Goodhue and Sam Li defeated Webb City’s Zach Stump and Jacob Russell 8-2 at No. 3 doubles.
In completed singles matches, Nagarajan defeated McDonald 6-1, 6-0 and Qian beat Perez 6-0, 6-1.
Barstow (10-2-1) beat fifth-seeded Belton 5-0 in the other semifinal.
Barstow defeated Thomas Jefferson in last year’s district championship match en route to taking third place at the state tournament.
Webb City concluded the season with a record of 5-9.
Third-seeded Webb City defeated sixth-seeded Ruskin 5-0 and fifth-seeded Belton beat fourth-seeded Neosho 5-3 in quarterfinal matchups of the Class 2 District 7 boys tennis tournament on Monday.
Webb City will take on second-seeded Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals at 3:30 on Tuesday at the TJ courts.
Belton earned a date with top-seeded Belton in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
BELTON 5, NEOSHO 3
Belton won two of the three doubles matches against the Wildcats.
At No. 1 doubles, Neosho’s Christian Williams and Reid Snyder defeated Carson Dent-Caden Petzold 8-4.
Belton’s Omar Martinez and Neil Patel defeated Willis Jarvis-Peyton Williams 8-3 at No. 2 doubles and Angel Grocida Basurto and Coleman Hardee topped Breckin McAffrey-Noah Schade 8-3 at No. 3 doubles.
Neosho won two singles matches, as Christian Williams defeated Dent 6-4, 6-1 and Schade beat Hardee 6-3, 6-2.
The dual ended when Belton recorded three singles wins, however.
LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — Joplin and Carthage were among the boys tennis teams competing at the individual district tournament on Saturday.
Competing in Class 3 District 6 at Lee’s Summit North High School, none of the Eagles or Tigers were able to advance to the state tournament. The top two singles players and the top two doubles teams advanced.
Joplin’s doubles team of Adam Badr and Josiah Hazlewood fell one win short of advancing to the bracket’s title match.
After a first-round bye, Badr-Hazlewood defeated Carthage’s Will Wallace-Fabian Solano 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Rockhurst’s Luke Johnson and Nathan Dierks defeated the Joplin duo 6-1, 6-2.
Both Rockhurst teams were in the title match, with Caleb Bridges-Henry Stevens beating Johnson-Dierks 6-2, 6-2.
Also competing in doubles were Joplin’s duo of Hunter Merkley and Michael Mancipe and Carthage’s tandem of Silas Laytham and Danilo Lopez. Both teams went 0-1.
Carthage’s Wallace-Solano defeated Lee’s Summit West’s Nathan Fredlund-Dane Hooks 6-2, 6-3 before falling to the Eagles.
The top two singles players were Lee’s Summit West’s Arnav Gannavaram and Lee’s Summit North’s Maxon Chen.
In the title match, Gannavaram beat Chen 6-0, 6-2. Again, both players advanced to the individual state tournament.
Playing singles for Joplin were Leif Garrity and Oscar Kienzle, while Charlie Snow and Joshua Rivera competed for Carthage.
Snow defeated Kienzle 6-0, 6-0 before falling to eventual champ Gannavaram 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.
Garrity and Rivera went 0-1.
TEAM TOURNAMENT
The district team tournament begins at 4 p.m. on Monday.
In quarterfinal matchups, fifth-seeded Carthage is at fourth-seeded Lee’s Summit North and seventh-seeded Joplin is at second-seeded Lee’s Summit.
The other opening-round match features No. 3 Lee’s Summit West against sixth-seeded Raymore-Peculiar.
Top-seeded Rockhurst has a first-round bye and awaits the Lee’s Summit North-Carthage winner in Tuesday’s semifinals.
Thomas Jefferson’s Prithvi Nagarajan has earned the right to compete at the MSHSAA Boys Tennis Championships.
Nagarajan was the singles champion at the individual district tournament on Friday. Thomas Jefferson was the host school for the Class 2 District 7 event.
The top two singles players and the top two doubles teams at Friday’s district tourney advanced to the individual state tournament.
A junior, Nagarajan was the singles champion and Barstow’s Liam Groden was the runner-up.
After an opening-round bye as the district’s No. 1 seed, Nagarajan defeated Ruskin’s Michael Titalangha 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.
Pictured is Thomas Jefferson’s Prithvi Nagarajan.
In the semifinals, Nagarajan defeated Webb City’s Jacob McDonald 6-1, 6-0.
In the bracket’s title match, Nagarajan defeated Groden 6-4, 6-1.
With the finish, Nagarajan earned a spot at the individual state tournament on May 18 in Springfield.
Barstow’s Groden advanced to the title match by beating Thomas Jefferson’s Devan Murali 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals.
In the bracket’s third-place match, Webb City’s McDonald defeated TJ’s Murali.
The top four finishers in each bracket are considered medalists.
Also competing in the singles bracket were Webb City’s Lucas Lowery and Neosho’s duo of Christian Williams and Willis Jarvis.
Williams defeated Ruskin’s Aamer Hamdan 6-1, 6-1 before falling to Groden in the quarterfinals. Lowery and Jarvis both went 0-1.
Barstow had the top two doubles teams.
Barstow’s Sankeerth Gandhari and George Colombo defeated their teammates Sanjeev Adma and Aaram Salam 6-3, 6-3 in the title match.
Two local doubles teams fell in the semifinals, thus falling short of a state berth.
Barstow’s Gandhari-Colombo defeated Webb City’s Tristan Lynch and Felipe Perez 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals.
In the other semifinal, Barstow’s Adma-Salam defeated Thomas Jefferson’s Chengle Qian and Jack Goodhue 6-3, 6-1.
In the bracket’s third-place match, Qian-Goodhue defeated Lynch-Perez 8-5.
Also competing in doubles were Thomas Jefferson’s Sam Li and Nathaniel Curtis, Webb City’s Jacob Russell-Kaden Cox and Neosho’s Reid Snyder-Peyton Williams and Breckin McAffrey-Noah Schade.
Li-Curtis defeated Ruskin’s Abdulrehman Assaf-Abdallah Banialmarjeh 6-0, 6-3 before falling to Webb City’s Lynch-Perez in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-2.
Neosho’s McAffrey-Schade defeated Ruskin’s Zhuhair Abuasbah-Mateo Lopez 6-2, 6-0 in the opening-round before falling to Qian-Goodhue in the quarterfinals, 6-0, 6-0.
Russell-Cox and Snyder-Williams both went 0-1.
DISTRICT TEAM TOURNAMENT
The Class 2 District 7 team tournament will begin on Monday.
Fourth-seeded Neosho will host fifth-seeded Belton at 3:30 on Monday, while third-seeded Webb City will host sixth-seeded Ruskin, also at 3:30.
The Neosho-Belton winner will play at No. 1 Barstow at 3:30 on Tuesday in the semifinals.
Second-seeded Thomas Jefferson will host the Webb City-Ruskin winner at 3:30 on Tuesday in the other semifinal.
The district title match is scheduled for 3:30 on Wednesday, May 10 at Thomas Jefferson.
The Thomas Jefferson boys tennis team completed an undefeated regular season by beating Clever 9-0 on Wednesday.
The Cavaliers are 11-0 ahead of postseason play.
In doubles, TJ’s Prithvi Nagarajan and Devan Murali defeated Jase Whiles-Dylan Dodds 8-4, while Chengle Qian and Jack Goodhue beat Kaden Smith-Kalib Butts 8-0 and Sam Li and Nathaniel Curtis topped Cade Clements-Triston Keithley 8-1.
In singles play, Nagarajan defeated Whiles 8-1, Murali beat Dodds 8-2, Qian topped Smith 8-3, Tyler Brouhard beat Clements 8-1, Goodhue handled Keithley 8-0 and Li defeated Butts 8-0.
Thomas Jefferson will host the Class 2 District 7 individual tournament on Friday. The action is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
Also competing in District 7 are Barstow, Belton, Neosho, Ruskin and Webb City.
Joplin’s doubles team of Adam Badr and Josiah Hazlewood and Neosho singles player Reid Snyder were the top local finishers at the 2023 Central Ozark Conference boys tennis tournament on Wednesday at the Joplin Athletic Complex courts.
Joplin’s Badr and Hazlewood finished second at No. 1 doubles, while Snyder was the runner-up at No. 2 singles.
NO. 1 DOUBLES
In the bracket’s championship match, Willard’s Dawson Amstutz and Seth Miller defeated Joplin’s Badr-Hazlewood 8-4.
In the quarterfinals, Badr-Hazlewood defeated Webb City’s Felipe Perez and Tristan Lynch 8-4.
“They were down 1-4 against Webb City but were able to rally back to win that round,” Joplin coach Aaron Stump said. “They followed it up with a tight match against Branson, which went into a tie-break. They played well against Willard as well but lost the championship match.”
In the semifinals, the Eagles defeated Branson’s Jack Dawson-Preston Volz 9-8 (10-9) to advance to the title match, where they settled for the silver medals.
The Branson duo defeated Republic’s Elder-Cole 8-6 in the third-place match.
Webb City’s Perez-Lynch defeated CJ’s William Russel-Blaine Wilkerson 8-2 in the play-in round before falling to the Eagles.
Neosho’s duo of Willis Jarvis and Peyton Williams and Carthage’s tandem of Silas Laytham and Danilo Lopez dropped their opening matches.
NO. 2 DOUBLES
Branson’s duo of Joshua Brown and Zachary Zander defeated Ozark’s Benjamin Romano-Nicholas Psarev 8-4 in the championship match of the No. 2 doubles bracket.
In the third-place match, Willard’s Brigham Thedell-Gabriel Hernandez defeated Nixa’s Nathan Uptown-Rowley and Tyler Neal 8-6.
Neosho’s Breckin McAffrey and Noah Schade defeated Joplin’s Michael Mancipe and Hunter Merkley 8-2 in the opening round, but lost to Ozark’s Romano-Psarvev 8-4 in the quarterfinals.
Carthage’s Will Wallace and Fabian Solano defeated Republic’s Gavin Collyott-Caleb Long 8-3, but then fell to Nixa in the quarterfinals, 8-5.
Carl Junction’s Jayden Wolf-Samuel Cory and Webb City’s Zachary Stump-Jacob Russel dropped their opening-round matches.
NO. 1 SINGLES
Willard’s Caden Lingenfelser was the champion at No. 1 singles.
In the bracket’s title match, Lingenfelser defeated Branson’s Nathan Bartram 8-1.
Nixa’s Carson Palmer defeated Ozark’s Connor Kitchin 8-3 in the third-place match.
Joplin’s Leif Garrity defeated Neosho’s Christian Williams 8-1 in the play-in round but lost to Bartram 8-3 in the quarterfinals.
Carl Junction’s Jordan Markham, Carthage’s Charles Snow and Webb City’s Jacob McDonald all went 0-1.
NO. 2 SINGLES
In the title match at No. 2 singles, Branson’s Benjamin Merrifield defeated Neosho’s Snyder 8-1.
Snyder edged Ozark’s Ethan Fast 9-8 (7-5) in the quarterfinals and got past Carthage’s Josh Rivera 9-8 (8-6) in the semifinals.
In the bracket’s third-place match, Carthage’s Rivera defeated Carl Junction’s Daniel Hodson 8-4.
Hodson defeated Webb City’s Trevor Peterson 8-5 in the quarterfinals and suffered an 8-4 loss to Merrifield in the semifinals.
Joplin’s Oscar Kienzle and Webb City’s Peterson both went 0-1.
In the regular-season finale, Branson defeated Joplin 8-1 in a boys tennis dual on Wednesday.
The match was held after the Central Ozark Conference tourney at the Joplin Athletic Complex courts.
This dual match was played after the COC tournament concluded today at the Joplin Athletic Complex. The contest was originally scheduled for Thursday, but was moved up due to the weather forecast.
“The guys had a long day of tennis, but they avoided being shut out by Branson with a strong performance at No. 3 doubles,” Joplin coach Aaron Stump said. “We had a much better showing than last year, when we only won six games.”
At No. 1 doubles, Branson’s Nathan Bartram and Jack Dawson defeated Adam Badr and Josiah Hazlewood 6-1.
At No. 2 doubles, Branson’s Benjamin Merrifield and Preston Volz beat Michael Mancipe-Hunter Merkley 6-1.
At No. 3 doubles, Joplin’s Leif Garrity and Oscar Kienzle defeated Benjamin Stark-Joshua Brown 6-4.
“Leif and Oscar were able to extend points and win longer rallies, which gave them the win,” Stump said.
The Pirates swept all six singles matches.
Bartram defeated Badr 8-3, Merrifield beat Hazlewood 8-1, Dawson topped Garrity 8-4, Volz beat Merkley 8-0, Stark defeated Kienzle 8-2 and Brown beat Roman Venturella 8-1.
POSTSEASON AWAITS
Joplin will compete at the individual district tournament on Saturday at Lee’s Summit North High School.
Seventh-seeded Joplin will take on second-seeded Lee’s Summit at 4 p.m. on Monday in the quarterfinals of the Class 3 District 6 team tournament at Lee’s Summit High School.
The winner advances to the semifinals on Tuesday, May 9.
In Monday’s other quarterfinal action, fifth-seeded Carthage meets fourth-seeded Lee’s Summit North and third-seeded Lee’s Summit West takes on sixth-seeded Raymore-Peculiar.
Top-seeded Rockhurst awaits the LSN-Carthage winner in the semifinals on May 9.
Note: See a related story on Wednesday’s Central Ozark Conference Tournament.
The Joplin High School boys tennis team defeated Carl Junction 8-1 on Tuesday night.
“We had a great dual tonight,” Joplin coach Aaron Stump said. “The guys had solid matches, only losing at No. 2 doubles.”
At No. 1 doubles, Joplin’s Adam Badr and Josiah Hazlewood defeated Jordan Markham and Daniel Hodson 8-3.
Carl Junction’s William Russel and Jayden Wolf edged Michael Mancipe-Hunter Merkley 8-6 at No. 2 doubles.
At No. 3 doubles, Joplin’s Leif Garrity and Oscar Kienzle beat Hayden Wilkerson-Samuel Cory 8-4.
The Eagles won all six singles matches.
Badr defeated Markham 8-1, Hazlewood edged Hodson 8-6, Garrity handled Russel 8-1, Merkley beat Wolf 8-1, Kienzle got past Wilkerson 9-8 (7-2) and Roman Venturella defeated Cory 8-5.
All of the close singles matches went Joplin’s way.
“Josiah fought hard for his singles win and played out a lot of longer points,” Stump said. “Oscar was down a game for most of the match but was able to get back and win in a tie-breaker. Roman came back from 1-4 to win his match. He adjusted his swing and got back into his rhythm to turn things around tonight.”
WEBB CITY 7, NEOSHO 2
Webb City won two of three doubles matches and five of the six singles matches to earn a COC win over the Wildcats.
At No. 1 doubles, Webb City’s Jacob McDonald and Tristan Lynch beat Christian Williams-Willis Jarvis 8-4, while Felipe Perez-Zach Stump defeated Neosho’s Reid Snyder-Peyton Williams 8-4 at No. 2.
At No. 3 doubles, Neosho’s Breckin McAffrey-Noah Schade defeated Jacob Russell-Kaden Cox 8-4.
Webb City’s McDonald defeated Christian Williams 8-3, Perez edged Jarvis 9-7, Lynch beat Snyder 8-3, Stump topped Peyton Williams 8-4 and Cox nipped Schade 9-8 (7-5).
Neosho’s McAffrey defeated Russell 8-5.
Note: Joplin, Carl Junction, Webb City and Neosho will be among the teams competing at the Central Ozark Conference Tournament on Wednesday.
THOMAS JEFFERSON 9, AURORA 0
Thomas Jefferson’s boys tennis team improved to 10-0 this season by beating Aurora on Tuesday.
In doubles matches, Thomas Jefferson’s Prithvi Nagarajan and Devan Murali beat Landon Boatwright-Braxton Jackson 8-0, while Chengle Qian and Jack Goodhue defeated Greysen Boettler-Adam Bland 8-0 and Sam Li and Nathaniel Curtis topped Mario Jimenez-Wyatt Lawson 8-4.
In singles matches, Nagarajan beat Boatwright 8-0, Murali topped Jackson 8-2, Qian handled Boettler 8-0, Goodhue defeated Bland 8-1, Li edged Jimenez 8-6 and Curtis beat Lawson 8-0.
The Thomas Jefferson boys tennis team defeated Nevada 8-1 on Thursday at the TJ courts.
Tom Brumfield’s Cavaliers are now 9-0 this spring.
The Cavaliers swept all three doubles matches.
At No. 1 doubles, Prithvi Nagarajan and Devan Murali defeated Jayden Thankamani and Michael Earnest 8-0, while Chengle Qian and Jack Goodhue beat Gage Miller-Zade Lee 8-0 at No. 2 doubles and Sam Li and Nathaniel Curtis topped Kenneth Johnson-Henry Campbell 8-4.
Thomas Jefferson won five of six singles matches.
In singles, TJ’s Nagarajan defeated Thankamani 8-0, Murali beat Earnest 8-5, Qian topped Miller 8-2, Goodhue defeated Lee 8-2 and Li beat Johnson 8-1.
Nevada’s Campbell defeated Curtis 8-5 at No. 6 singles.
MONETT, Mo. — The Thomas Jefferson Cavaliers captured the team championship at the Monett Invitational boys tennis tournament on Wednesday.
Thomas Jefferson finished with 18 points, while Monett was the runner-up with 13 points. Carthage and New Covenant tied for third with 11 points.
Rounding out the field were Webb City (6), Mount Vernon (3.5), Aurora (2.5) and Clever (1).
The Cavaliers won two of the four brackets, No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles.
At No. 1 doubles, Thomas Jefferson’s Prithvi Nagarajan and Devan Murali went 3-0.
The Cavaliers defeated Aurora’s Greysen Boettler-Mario Jimenez 8-0 in the quarterfinals and topped Monett’s Elijah Ridenour-Logan Kutz 8-4 in the semifinals.
In the bracket’s title match, Nagarajan-Murali beat New Covenant’s Brody Bennett-Aidan Henderson 8-5.
Thomas Jefferson’s Jack Goodhue won the No. 2 singles bracket.
Goodhue beat Clever’s Kaden Smith 8-1 and Carthage’s Eli Scott 8-3 to advance to the title match. Goodhue defeated Monett’s Heisman Welch 9-8 (7-5) in the bracket’s championship match.
Thomas Jefferson’s Lele Qian was the runner-up at No. 1 singles.
Qian beat Mount Vernon’s Peyton West 8-0 and topped Aurora’s Landon Boatwright 8-4. In the title match, Monett’s Ethan Kutz edged Qian 9-8 (11-9).
Thomas Jefferson’s Sam Li and Nathaniel Curtis finished fourth at No. 2 doubles. They dropped the bracket’s third-place match to Mount Vernon’s Malachi Hennum-Austin Robison 8-4.
WEBB CITY HIGHLIGHTS
Webb City’s Jacob McDonald and Tristan Lynch took third place at No. 1 doubles.
Webb City’s Felipe Perez finished fourth at No. 2 singles and Trevor Peterson won the fifth-place match at No. 1 singles. Webb City’s Zachary Stump-Lucas Lowery went 0-2 at No. 2 doubles.
CARTHAGE HIGHLIGHTS
Carthage’s duo of Silas Laytham and Danilo Lopez took second at No. 2 doubles. They fell to New Covenant, 8-5, in the title match.
Carthage’s Josh Rivera finished third at No. 1 singles and Eli Scott took third at No. 2 singles.
Carthage’s No. 1 doubles team of Charlie Snow and Will Wallace won the fifth-place match.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Joplin won two of the three doubles matches, but Webb City claimed four of the six singles matches to earn a Central Ozark Conference boys tennis victory on Tuesday.
At No. 1 doubles, Joplin’s Adam Badr and Josiah Hazlewood edged Jacob McDaniel and Trevor Peterson 8-6.
At No. 2 doubles, Joplin’s Leif Garrity and Oscar Kienzle beat Zachary Stump and Lucas Lowery 8-6.
Webb City’s Felipe Perez and Tristan Lynch defeated Roman Venturella and Chapel Braman 8-4 at No. 3 doubles.
At No. 1 singles, Webb City’s McDonald defeated Badr 8-4 and Peterson beat Hazlewood 8-5 at No. 2 singles.
Joplin’s Garrity defeated Stump 8-2 at No. 3 singles.
Webb City won at No. 4 and No. 5 singles, as Perez defeated Venturella 8-2 and Lynch topped Braman 8-2.
At No. 6 singles, Joplin’s Kienzle edged Lowery 9-7.
“We lost a close match tonight against Webb City,” Joplin coach Aaron Stump said. “Adam and Josiah were great at No. 1 doubles. They hit a couple obstacles in singles and weren’t able to string together enough games at the end for a comeback. Leif and Oscar played really well at No. 2 doubles in their first match as a varsity doubles team. They also came away with singles wins by playing out a lot of lengthy points.”
Webb City will compete at the Monett Invitational on Wednesday.
Joplin is at Branson on Thursday.
CARTHAGE 9, NEOSHO 0
CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Tigers swept the three doubles matches and six singles matches against the Wildcats on Tuesday.
In doubles, Carthage’s Charles Snow and William Wallace defeated Christian Williams-Willis Jarvis 8-1, while Silas Laytham and Danilo Lopez-Gramajo beat Reid Snyder-Peyton Williams 8-1 and Joshua Rivera and Eli Scott topped Breckin McAffrey-Noah Schade 8-3.
In singles, Snow beat Christian Williams 8-4, Laytham defeated Jarvis 8-1, Rivera topped Snyder 8-3, Lopez-Gramajo beat Peyton Williams 8-2, Wallace handled McAffrey 8-1 and Fabian Solano defeated Schade 8-1.
Neosho is at Republic on Thursday. Carthage is at the Monett Invitational on Wednesday.
The host Eagles finished fourth at their own Joplin Invitational boys tennis tournament on Friday at the JHS Athletic Complex.
“As a team, we were one match away from finishing in third, which was won by Glendale,” Joplin coach Aaron Stump said. “We played a tight match against them, going 2-3.”
Branson was the team champion after going 22-3 on the day, while Willard took second with a 20-5 mark. Glendale was third after going 12-12, with Joplin fourth at 11-14, Clever fifth (5-20) and the Joplin JV sixth (4-21).
Joplin’s Adam Badr was the runner-up at No. 1 singles.
“Adam had the best performance for our team today, going 4-1,” Stump said. “His only loss was to Caden Lingenfelser from Willard. Adam was hitting his serves well and played out great points throughout the day.”
Joplin’s Zekir Ajruloski hits a volley at the net during Friday’s Joplin Invitational boys tennis tournament at JHS. Photo by Jason Peake.
Badr defeated Branson’s Jack Dawson 6-4, beat Clever’s Cade Clements 6-1, defeated Glendale’s Eli Hancock 6-2, suffered a 6-1 loss to Lingenfelser and beat Joplin JV’s Oscar Kienzle 6-3.
At No. 2 singles, Joplin’s Josiah Hazlewood went 2-3.
Hazlewood beat Clever’s Triston Keithly 6-0 and he topped Joplin JV’s Landon White 6-1.
Hazlewood took a 6-0 loss to Branson’s Ben Merrifield, had a 6-3 setback to Glendale’s Carson Johnson and suffered a hard-fought 7-6 (7-5) loss to Willard’s Brigham Thedell.
At No. 3 singles, Joplin’s Leif Garrity won two matches.
Garrity beat Clever’s Greg West 6-0 and then won his match against Joplin JV’s Griffan Keller by default.
Branson’s Preston Volz defeated Garrity 6-2, Glendale’s Tilio Levy topped Garrity 6-4 and Willard’s Gabe Hernandez beat Garrity 6-4.
Joplin’s No. 1 doubles team of Michael Mancipe and Hunter Merkley went 1-4.
The Eagles lost to Branson 6-0, suffered a 6-2 loss to Clever, fell 7-5 to Glendale and lost 6-0 to Willard. Mancipe-Merkley defeated Joplin JV’s Cooper Burrow-Zekir Ajruloski 6-2.
Joplin’s No. 2 doubles team of Roman Venturella and Chapel Braman went 3-2.
The Eagles edged Clever’s Jason Williams-Kadon Smith 7-5, beat Glendale’s Connor Cook-Carter Roberts 6-3 and beat the Joplin JV by default.
The Eagles lost to Branson 6-0 and suffered a 6-2 setback to Willard.
The Joplin JV squad earned four wins.
At No. 1 singles, Joplin JV’s Kienzle defeated Glendale’s Hancock 7-6 and topped Clever’s Clements 6-2.
White earned a 6-2 win over Clever’s Keithly, while Kellar beat Clever’s West 6-2.
Willard’s Lingenfelser won the No. 1 singles bracket, Branson’s Merrifield won the No. 2 singles bracket and Branson’s Volz was the top performer at No. 3 singles.
The top No. 1 doubles team was Willard’s Seth Miller-Dawson Amstutz, while Branson’s Heath Stark-Zach Zander were the top No. 2 doubles team.
Joplin’s Josiah Hazlewood returns a serve during No. 2 singles play at Friday’s Joplin Invitational boys tennis tournament at the JHS Athletic Complex. Photos by Jason Peake.
Joplin’s Cooper Burrow serves during doubles play on Friday at the Joplin Invitational boys tennis tournament. The host Eagles took fourth at the invite. Photo by Jason Peake.
The Thomas Jefferson boys tennis team improved to 8-0 on the season by beating Greenwood 9-0 on Thursday at the TJ courts.
In singles, Thomas Jefferson’s Prithvi Nagarajan beat Sanjeev Maganti 8-0, Devan Murali topped Andrew Scott 8-4, Chengle Qian defeated Enzo Cricchio 8-0, Jack Goodhue beat Marcus Ryan 8-0, Sam Li handled Griffin Litherland 8-4 and Nathaniel Curtis beat Braden Nicholson 8-3.
Thomas Jefferson’s No. 1 doubles team of Nagarajan-Murali defeated Maganti-Ryan 8-0.
At No. 2 doubles, TJ’s Qian-Goodhue beat Scott-Litherland 8-2.
Thomas Jefferson’s Li and Curtis defeated Cricchio-Nicholson 8-4 at No. 3 doubles.
The Cavaliers host Springfield Central on Tuesday.
Joplin High School boys tennis coach Aaron Stump focused on the positives after his Eagles suffered an 8-1 loss to Willard on Thursday in Central Ozark Conference action.
“This is the best we’ve played against Willard since our state team in 2019,” Stump said. “Last year, we won six games total and did not win a match. This year, we won 27 games and a match. I see the talent forming in our group, and having closer matches against a team as strong as Willard is promising.”
Joplin’s No. 3 doubles team of Leif Garrity and Roman Venturella defeated Gabriel Hernandez-Christian Ryan 9-8 (7-5).
“Leif and Roman hit their stride early in the match,” Stump said. “They placed the ball well and were up all the way up to the tie-break set. Their consistency won it for them.”
At No. 1 doubles, Willard’s Caden Lingenfelser-Brigham Thedell edged Joplin’s Adam Badr-Josiah Hazlewood 9-7.
“Adam and Josiah had a great match,” Stump said. “Caden won conference last year as a junior and has a monster serve. Adam and Josiah were able to get some good returns and kept the match close.”
At No. 2 doubles, Willard’s Dawson Amstutz-Seth Miller defeated Michael Mancipe-Hunter Merkley 8-0.
In singles, Willard’s Lingenfelser beat Badr 8-1, Amstutz topped Hazlewood 8-0, Miller beat Garrity 8-2, Thedell defeated Merkley 8-2, Hernandez handled Venturella 8-0 and Ryan edged Chapel Braman 8-6.
“Chapel played one of his best varsity matches today,” Stump said. “He positioned the ball well and kept the points going.”
The Eagles host the Joplin Invitational on Friday at the JHS courts, with the action slated to begin at 9 a.m.
NEOSHO, Mo. — Nixa defeated Neosho 8-1 in a Central Ozark Conference boys tennis dual on Tuesday.
Neosho’s lone win came at No. 2 doubles, as Reid Snyder and Peyton Williams defeated James Harris-Liam Dalton 8-5.
At No. 1 doubles, Nixa’s Carson Palmer-Mason Murray defeated Christian Williams-Willis Jarvis 8-3 and Tyler Upton-Rowley and Tyler Neal beat Breckin McAffrey-Noah Schade 8-2 at No. 3 doubles.
In singles, Christian Williams suffered an 8-4 loss to Palmer, Jarvis dropped an 8-6 decision to Murray and Snyder fell short in another close match, 8-6, to Dalton.
Upton-Rowley defeated Peyton Williams 8-3, while Neal edged McAffrey 9-7 in yet another close one and Nicholas Vinson defeated Schade 8-5.
The Carthage Tigers defeated the Joplin Eagles 7-2 in a Central Ozark Conference boys tennis dual on Tuesday at the JHS Athletic Complex.
“The team has improved since last year’s match against Carthage, a team with a depth of four seniors on their varsity squad,” Joplin coach Aaron Stump said. “We won two matches, compared to none in last season’s dual. We also had some longer, more competitive matches with more games won.”
At No. 1 doubles, Joplin’s Adam Badr and Josiah Hazlewood defeated Charles Snow and Joshua Rivera 8-4.
“Adam and Josiah played well and communicated effectively,” Stump said. “They set up points with good serves and had a strong showing.”
Carthage’s Silas Laytham and Danilo Lopez-Gramajo beat Michael Mancipe-Roman Venturella 8-1 at No. 2 doubles, while William Wallace and Eli Scott defeated Joplin’s Leif Garrity-Hunter Merkley 8-1 at No. 3 doubles.
At No. 1 singles, Carthage’s Snow defeated Badr 8-5, while Laytham topped Hazlewood 8-2 at No. 2 singles.
Joplin’s Garrity defeated Rivera 8-3 at No. 3 singles.
“Leif did a great job placing the ball when he needed to close out points, and he had consistent play throughout the match,” Stump said.
Carthage won the final three singles matches, as Lopez-Gramajo defeated Merkley 8-4, Wallace beat Venturella 8-2 and Scott topped Chapel Braman 8-3.
Joplin hosts Willard on Thursday. Carthage hosts Neosho next Tuesday.
The Neosho High School boys tennis team defeated Aurora 9-0 on Monday.
The Wildcats earned their third dual win of the season.
In singles action, Neosho’s Christian Williams defeated Landon Boatwright 9-7, Willis Jarvis beat Braxton Jackson 8-2, Reid Snyder topped Greysen Boettler 8-2, Peyton Williams defeated Adam Bland 8-4, Breckin McAffrey beat Mario Jimenez 8-2 and Noah Schade topped Wyatt Lawson 8-2.
In doubles, Christian Williams-Snyder defeated Boatwright-Jackson 8-4, while Jarvis-Peyton Wililams beat Boettler-Bland 8-3 and McAffrey-Schade handled Jimenez-Lawson 8-1.
The Joplin High School boys tennis team finished fifth at the Truman Tournament on Saturday in Independence.
“Joplin had a good showing overall,” Eagles coach Aaron Stump told SoMo Sports. “Barstow and Staley, the top two teams in the tournament, were our only losses aside from No. 1 doubles falling to William Chrisman in their final match.”
Barstow (33), Staley (23.5), Lee’s Summit North (20.5) and Grain Valley (20) were the top four teams. Joplin (13.5) took fifth, followed by Truman (9), William Chrisman (6) and Kearney (5.5).
Joplin’s Adam Badr finished fourth at No. 1 singles.
Badr defeated Grain Valley’s Carter Williams 8-0 in the first round and then suffered a 7-5 (7-5 tie-breaker) setback to Staley’s Liam Colebank in the semifinals.
Badr dropped the third-place match to Lee Summit North’s Nate Wright 8-2.
“Adam had a great first match and went to a tie-breaker in his second match against a seasoned player from Staley,” Stump said. “He expended a lot of energy there, and had a tougher time in his third-place match.”
Josiah Hazlewood was the runner-up at No. 2 singles.
“Josiah had a great day, finishing in second place,” Stump said. “He won a couple tight matches before eventually falling to Staley in the championship match.”
Hazlewood defeated Truman’s Isaac Ulberg 8-6 and knocked off Grain Valley’s Trace Compton 8-4 in the semifinals.
In the bracket’s championship match, Staley’s Peyton Burch defeated Hazlewood 8-1.
Joplin’s No. 1 doubles team of Michael Mancipe-Hunter Merkley finished eighth after going 0-3.
Joplin’s No. 2 doubles team of Roman Venturella and Chapel Braman finished sixth. They went 1-2, falling to Staley 6-2 in the fifth-place match.
“We didn’t have a good draw in doubles, facing the winning Barstow team in round one of both brackets,” Stump noted.
The host Cavaliers won their own Thomas Jefferson Invitational boys tennis tournament on Friday.
Thomas Jefferson and Carthage both finished the event with 22.5 points. A tie-breaker was used to determine the team champion, with fewest games lost being the determining factor.
With that, the Cavaliers had the advantage (30-52) to take the team crown.
In the championship match at No. 1 singles, Thomas Jefferson’s Prithvi Nagarajan defeated Carthage’s Charlie Snow 8-0.
Monett’s Ethan Kutz defeated Mount Vernon’s Moore 8-3 in the third-place match.
In the title match at No. 2 singles, Carthage’s Silas Laytham defeated Thomas Jefferson’s Devan Murali 8-4.
In the bracket’s third-place match, Monett’s Heisman Welch beat Clever’s Dylan Dodds 8-0.
Thomas Jefferson’s duo of Chengle Qian and Jack Goodhue won the No. 1 doubles crown by defeating Carthage’s Danilo-Lopez-Josh Rivera 8-2.
For third place at No. 1 doubles, Monett’s Elijah Ridenour-Logan Kutz defeated Webb City’s Jake McDonald-Trevor Peterson 8-3.
At No. 2 doubles, Carthage’s Eli Scott and Will Wallace defeated TJ’s Sam Li and Nathaniel Curtis 8-3 for the title.
The third-place match at No. 2 doubles went to Webb City’s Tristan Lynch and Felipe Perez, who defeated Mount Vernon’s Payton West-CJ Robins 8-3.
Matches were played at the TJ courts and at Millennium Family Fitness.
