The Thomas Jefferson girls tennis team defeated Nevada 6-3 on Thursday at the TJ courts.
The Cavaliers improved to 2-0.
In singles action, Thomas Jefferson’s Allison Ding defeated Laura Kimmell 8-3, while Jeanna Jeyaraj beat Hailey Elkinton 8-5 and Kyla Yang topped Susannah Kimmell 8-2.
Emma Watts returned to the lineup and made an immediate impact in doubles, but the Joplin Eagles suffered a 5-4 setback to Branson on Thursday at the JHS courts.
A junior returning state-qualifier, Watts has missed the team’s previous early-season action due to an injury.
On Thursday, Watts teamed up with senior Astrid Cardenas in No. 1 doubles. The Eagles’ duo defeated Branson’s Andrea Fuentes and Madelyn Volz 8-0.
“This was Emma’s first match back, we just played her in doubles to ease her in and it went great,” Joplin assistant coach Richard Perry said.
The Pirates won the other two doubles matches.
Branson’s Chase Carlin and Sylvie Barbour defeated Abry Stayton and Brynn Driver 8-3 at No. 2 doubles, while Brooklyn Buxton and Avery Webber topped Mya Ndedi-Ntepe and Madi Corl 8-4 at No. 3 doubles.
Joplin won three singles matches.
At No. 1 singles, Cardenas defeated Fuentez 8-4.
“Astrid had to battle hard in her singles match, but was able to pull ahead after a back-and-forth start,” Perry noted.
At No. 2 singles, Joplin’s Stayton edged Volz 9-7.
“Abry was behind the whole match until the very end where she was able to find an opening and take it,” Perry said of the sophomore.
At No. 3 singles, Ndedi-Ntepe earned a 9-8 (7-2 tie-breaker) win over Carlin.
“Mya played fantastic in a tough match where she had to play two spots higher,” Perry noted. “She had a match point against her but was able to turn on the heat when the pressure mounted. Once she got in the tie-breaker she went off and was able to cruise to an easy 7-2 finish.”
In other singles matches, Branson’s Barbour topped Driver 8-3, Buxton defeated Corl 8-4 and Webber beat Alex Carson 8-0.
Perry said he and head coach Jeff Williams were definitely pleased with the team’s effort.
“I’m very proud about how hard the girls are fighting while down multiple players,” Perry said, noting that Cloey Blank was out sick on Thursday. “When we all get healthy, I think we will be a scary team.”
Joplin is hosting an invite on Friday. Webb City, College Heights and Springfield Central are also competing at the event, which begins at 10 a.m. at the JHS athletic complex.
In a closely-contested girls tennis dual, Joplin edged Webb City 5-4 on Tuesday at the JHS athletic complex.
The Eagles took two of three doubles matches to start the night.
Joplin’s Cloey Blank returns a serve during Tuesday’s match with Webb City. Photos by Jason Peake.
At No. 1 doubles, Joplin’s Astrid Cardenas and Abry Stayton defeated Kinzlea Smith and Brynlee Hollingsworth 8-1.
At No. 2 doubles, Joplin’s Cloey Blank and Brynn Driver topped Shelby Ensminger and Ally Ansley 8-4.
Webb City’s Walker Hoffman and Kaylee Smith defeated Madi Corl and Mya Ndedi-Ntepe 8-5 at No. 3 doubles.
Webb City’s Shelby Ensminger hits a backhand against Joplin on Tuesday.
The Eagles and Cardinals split six singles matches.
At No. 1 singles, Cardenas defeated Kirsalyn Hood 8-0, while Stayton topped Kinzlea Smith 8-3 at No. 2 singles.
Ensminger defeated Blank 8-4 at No. 3 singles, while Hollingsworth beat Ndedi-Ntepe 8-3 at No. 4.
Driver defeated Ansley 8-3 at No. 5 singles and Webb City’s Hoffman beat Corl 8-0 at No. 6 singles.
Joplin coach Jeff Williams noted the Eagles are currently playing without Emma Watts, as the returning state qualifier is out of action due to an injury.
Both teams are back in action on Thursday, as Joplin (1-4) hosts Branson (0-2) and Webb City (0-2) hosts Ozark (2-3).
Joplin’s Brynn Driver hits a forehand winner against Webb City during No. 2 doubles play.
Webb City’s Ally Ansley hits a forehand during No. 2 doubles play against Joplin on Tuesday.
Neosho’s girls tennis squad suffered a 9-0 loss to Republic on Tuesday.
In singles matches, Neosho’s Claudia Martensen lost to Isabelle Wells 8-0, Jasmine Martinez lost to Ashlyn Leonard 8-0 and Alexandra Olsbo lost to Taylor Massey 8-0.
Lyndsey Doke suffered an 8-3 loss to Caydie Imbeau, Cadence Martensen dropped an 8-0 decision to Mari Davidson and Sydnee Minton lost to Grace Replogle 8-0.
In doubles, Claudia Martensen-Martinez lost to Wells-Imbeau 8-1, Olsbo-Doke suffered an 8-0 setback to Leonard-Massey and Cadence Martensen-Minton lost to Davidson-Monica Henry 8-0.
Thomas Jefferson edged Joplin 5-4 in a girls tennis dual on Monday at the TJ courts.
The Eagles won two of three doubles matches.
At No. 1 doubles, Joplin’s Astrid Cardenas and Abry Stayton defeated Allison Ding and Jeanna Jeyaraj 8-1.
Thomas Jefferson’s Kyla Yang and Jessica Joseph defeated Cloey Blank and Mya Ndedi-Ntepe 8-3 at No. 2 doubles.
Joplin won the No. 3 doubles match, as Brynn Driver and Madi Corl beat Warda Morsy and Emalee Ro 8-2.
The Cavaliers won four of the six singles matches.
At No. 1 singles, Ding defeated Cardenas 8-3. Joplin’s Stayton beat Jeyaraj 8-3 at No. 2 singles, while Yang defeated Blank 8-4 at No. 3 singles.
TJ’s Joseph beat Ndedi-Ntepe 8-3 at No. 4 singles, but Joplin’s Driver defeated Morsy 8-5 at No. 5 singles.
“Brynn was able to rally back from a 1-5 deficit,” JHS assistant coach Richard Perry said. “It was nice seeing her play well after being sidelined from a knee injury all summer.”
At No. 6 singles, TJ’s Ro beat Corl 8-2.
Joplin hosts Webb City at 4:30 on Tuesday, while Thomas Jefferson will host Nevada on Thursday.
In another dual on Monday, College Heights defeated Webb City 5-4.
Senior Jasmine Martinez and junior Claudia Martensen are expected to lead the way for the Neosho High School girls tennis team in 2021.
Both of those players gained varsity experience last season and should be key performers this fall. Martinez was part of Neosho’s No. 2 doubles team last year, while Martensen was playing No. 2 singles at the conclusion of the 2020 season.
Neosho’s biggest loss to graduation was Michelle Lindsay, who played No. 1 singles.
Wildcats coach Nick Hays noted the team is very young this season, with a large sophomore class likely playing a key role.
Martinez, Dalia Maldonado and Alexandra Olsbo are the lone seniors on the roster. Claudia Martensen is the lone junior.
Sophomores on the team are Lyndsey Doke, Alyssa Evey, Georgia Housh, Cadence Martensen, Sydnee Minton and Lauren Nageotte.
Freshmen listed on the roster are Keely Keeton and Emily Papen.
The Wildcats, 0-14 in 2020, host Aurora on Aug. 30 to open the season
Astrid Cardenas and Emma Watts were the Joplin area’s top girls tennis players in 2020.
And now they’re back for more.
In a stellar fall campaign for the Joplin Eagles, Cardenas and Watts captured the No. 1 doubles crown at the Central Ozark Conference tournament, took second place at the Class 3 District 6 tournament and then advanced to the consolation quarterfinals of the state tournament.
“We were very pleased with them and they fell just short of being on the medal stand (at state),” Joplin coach Jeff Williams said. “I know they feel they should have been on the medal stand last year. I know they’d love to do that this year. We’re confident Astrid and Emma are going to be two really solid players for us again this year. And hopefully they can be two of the top players in the state.”
Joplin’s Emma Watts and Astrid Cardenas.
As a doubles team, Cardenas and Watts went 15-7 last season, but they were 14-3 after both players returned to action from injury or illness.
A back injury plagued Cardenas throughout her junior season, while an illness kept Watts out of action temporarily during her sophomore campaign.
Will Cardenas and Watts form a formidable doubles team again this fall?
“They’ve talked about it,” Joplin assistant coach Richard Perry said. “We’ll see. We’ll see how everyone is playing and we’ll put everyone in the best position possible to go the furthest for the team.”
Now a senior, Cardenas represented Joplin at the state tennis tournament for the second straight season in 2020.
Williams noted it may take Cardenas some time to get back into form this fall.
“Astrid is coming off a summer injury that held her back for several weeks, so we’ll see how fast she progresses from that,” Williams said. “We’re hoping she can have a successful senior year.”
Williams and Perry both noted Watts put in a lot of time and effort towards improving her tennis skills over the summer. With that, the JHS coaching staff expects Watts to have a stellar junior season.
“Emma played a lot of tennis and hit the weight room this summer,” Perry said of Watts, who went 7-3 in singles matches last season. “She’s gotten stronger and I think she’s going to roll right into this season.”
Cardenas and Watts aren’t the only Eagles on this year’s roster with prior varsity experience.
Senior Cloey Blank was in last year’s starting lineup and is expected to play a big role this season. Junior Brynn Driver is another player who earned varsity experience last fall. Jensen Vowels earned varsity playing time last year as a sophomore, but she’s currently unable to compete after having knee surgery.
As far as newcomers, sophomore Abry Stayton is a player who has impressed the coaching staff.
“Abry is a very good athlete and we look forward to her doing some good things for us,” Williams said.
Mya Ndedi-Ntepe, also a sophomore, is another player who could contribute at the varsity level.
“She’s been putting in a lot of work,” Perry noted.
The Eagles had 17 athletes in attendance at Monday’s first practice, five more than last year’s opening day.
The team will soon be holding challenge matches which will ultimately decide the varsity lineup.
“We have some newcomers who are in the mix, so we’ll see what happens,” Williams said.
“We have some open spots and those will go to whoever fights the hardest for them,” Perry said.
The Eagles are scheduled to open the season at Thomas Jefferson on Aug. 30. Joplin’s home opener is one night later against Webb City.
Also of note, the coaching staff has added several junior varsity events to this year’s schedule in order to get the younger players more valuable experience.
“Hopefully that will pay off and hopefully the program is on the rise,” Williams said.
