Your online home for Joplin area sports coverage.

GIRLS TENNIS: Joplin suffers district tourney loss

By:
Jason Peake

 

The Joplin High School girls tennis team competed as a group for the final time in 2021 on Monday night. 

Fifth-seeded Raymore-Peculiar defeated fourth-seeded Joplin 5-2 in a quarterfinal matchup of the Class 3 District 6 team tournament at the JHS athletic complex.

Raymore-Peculiar advanced to meet top-seeded Lee’s Summit West on Tuesday, while Joplin’s team season concluded. 

Joplin senior Astrid Cardenas hits a forehand during Monday’s district tournament at the JHS courts. All photos by Israel Perez.

Joplin won the No. 1 doubles match, as Astrid Cardenas and Emma Watts defeated Chantelle Sheldon and Sarah Jenson 8-1.

“Astrid and Emma have been playing really good tennis, especially for the last two weeks particularly,” Joplin coach Jeff Williams said. “They played well again tonight. They led the way for sure.”

At No. 2 doubles, Ray-Pec’s Shannon Finn and Isabella de Leon edged Joplin’s Abry Stayton and Mya Ndedi-Ntepe 8-6.

The visitors also won at No. 3 doubles, as Gabriela Vides and Naomi Ropp defeated Cloey Blank and Brynn Driver 8-5.

“We had some close matches in doubles, but we weren’t able to come out on top in those,” Williams noted. 

In singles action, Cardenas defeated Sheldon 6-3, 6-2.

In other completed singles matches, Raymore-Peculiar’s de Leon defeated Stayton 6-4, 6-3, Jenson beat Ndedi-Ntepe 6-2, 6-4 and Vides topped Blank 6-4, 6-2.

Joplin’s Mya Ndedi-Ntepe lunges to return a volley during Monday’s district tournament at JHS.

The dual ended as soon as Raymore-Peculiar reached five wins, so Watts and Driver did not complete their singles matches. 

Williams noted his team’s seniors will be missed. He added the Eagles improved this fall.

“Cloey Blank played her final match tonight,” Williams said of the senior. “Of course Astrid is also a senior and she’ll play next week at state. But we’ve had good senior leadership this season. I think all of the girls got progressively better throughout the season and I think they had a good time, too. Overall, our team got better as the year progressed and that’s what you want to see.” 

Although the team season is now over for the Eagles, Joplin’s doubles team of Cardenas and Watts will compete at next week’s individual state tournament in Springfield. 

In another district quarterfinal, sixth-seeded Carthage suffered a season-ending 5-0 loss to third-seeded Lee’s Summit. Lee’s Summit advanced to play No. 2 Lee’s Summit North in the other semifinal. 

 

Joplin’s Abry Stayton hits a forehand during her singles match against Raymore-Peculiar on Monday. All photos by Israel Perez.

 

Emma Watts serves during doubles play on Monday against Raymore-Peculiar. Watts and Astrid Cardenas won their doubles match 8-1.

 

Joplin’s Brynn Driver hits a backhand during Monday’s district tournament matchup against Raymore-Peculiar.

 

Joplin senior Cloey Blank returns a serve during her singles match against Raymore-Peculiar on Monday night at the JHS court.

 

Joplin’s Abry Stayton is pictured during Monday’s district tournament.

Share:

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Table of Contents

On Key

Related Posts