CARTHAGE 5, JOPLIN 4
Carthage edged Joplin 5-4 on Tuesday in a Central Ozark Conference tennis dual at JHS.
“This was a close matchup overall,” Joplin coach Aaron Stump said. “Take away a few unforced errors and the results could have flipped in our favor. Our doubles teams are doing a nice job communicating.”
At No. 1 doubles, Carthage’s Silas Smith and Ryan Phillips defeated Joplin’s Logan Merkley and Jeffrey Evenson 8-4. In what turned out to be a key match, Carthage’s No. 2 doubles team of Colby Tandy and Charles Snow edged Ben Wardlow and Colin Vermillion 9-7.
“This match could have gone either way,” Stump said. “Take away a couple double-faults and other unforced errors, and we could have won.”
Joplin’s Josh Yarnall and Michael Mancipe defeated Silas Laytham-Danilo Lopez-Gramajo 8-3 at No. 3 doubles.
The two teams split the six singles matches for the final margin.
Carthage’s Smith beat Merkley 8-2 at No. 1 singles.
“As our No. 1 singles player, Logan faces tough competition,” Stump commented. “He’s landing his serves and playing longer and longer rallies as he gets more experience in this position.”
Joplin’s Evenson defeated Tandy 8-5 at No. 2 singles.
“Jeffrey had a strong serve today,” Stump noted. “And he hit the ball well.”
The Eagles also had a big win at No. 3 singles, as Wardlow edged Phillips 8-6. Wardlow was down 5-0.
“Ben had a big comeback in his singles match,” Stump told SoMo Sports. “He was down early but was able to build momentum as he settled into the match.”
Joplin’s Yarnall defeated Snow 8-3 at No. 4 singles, but the Tigers won at No. 5 and No. 6.
Laytham topped Mancipe 8-2 and Lopez-Gramajo beat Vermillion 8-4.
Joplin hosts Nixa on Thursday and the Eagles host a tournament on Friday. Carthage hosts Republic on Thursday.
THOMAS JEFFERSON 9, MOUNT VERNON 0
MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — The Thomas Jefferson Cavaliers hiked their record to 7-0 with a 9-0 win over Mount Vernon on Tuesday.
In singles, Ian Ding defeated Chase Strong 8-1, Noah Hamlett beat Isaac Barker 8-0 and Tyler Brouhard topped Curtis Meyer 8-2.
Christopher Wheelen defeated Alvin Reid 8-0, Hari Nagarajan beat Justin Moore 8-1 and Prithvi Nagarajan handled Isaac Burks 8-0.
In doubles, Hamlett-Brouhard beat Strong-Barker 8-1, Ding-H. Nagarajan defeated Meyer-Burks 8-1 and Wheelen-P. Nagarajan beat Reid-Moore 8-0.
The Cavaliers are at Clever on Thursday.
CARL JUNCTION 8, NEOSHO 1
NEOSHO, Mo. — Carl Junction defeated Neosho 8-1 in a Central Ozark Conference matchup.
The Bulldogs won five of the six singles matches and all three doubles matches.
Carl Junction’s Blaine Wilkerson defeated Kuhio Sohl 8-1 at No. 1 singles, while Neosho’s Christian Williams beat Connor Sztamenits 8-6 at No. 2 singles.
Carl Junction won at No. 3-No. 6 singles, as Easton Sztamenits edged Melvin Lopez 9-7, Cade Wilkerson beat Ryno Lee 8-2, Josecito Figueroa Quezada defeated Blaze McKay 8-0 and Jordan Markham topped Israel Ezra 8-0.
Wilkerson-Wilkerson defeated Sohl-Williams 8-2, Sztamenits-Sztamenits beat Lopez-Lee 8-2 and Figueroa Quezada-Markham defeated McKay-Ezra 8-0.
Both teams return to action on Thursday, as Neosho hosts Ozark and Carl Junction plays host to Willard.
