Winning district championships is nothing new to the Thomas Jefferson girls tennis program.
But this year’s district title was different, even a bit more significant for the Cavaliers.
When top-seeded Thomas Jefferson defeated third-seeded Notre Dame de Sion 5-1 on Wednesday in the championship match of the Class 2 District 7 girls tennis tournament it gave the Cavaliers a fourth straight district crown — the program’s first in Class 2.
After winning three straight district titles in Class 1, the Cavaliers were bumped up to Class 2 this year due to MSHSAA’s championship factor for private schools.
“We’re pretty excited about it,” Thomas Jefferson coach Tom Brumfield said. “We made school history today. This is the first district championship in Class 2 that the girls program has ever won. It gives us a good feeling. We’ve shown that we can compete at the next level. And this was one of the hardest districts we’ve been in. It’s a good feeling.”
Playing on their home courts, the Cavaliers started Wednesday’s dual on a positive note by winning two of the three doubles matches.
At No. 1 doubles, Thomas Jefferson’s Allison Ding and Jeanna Jeyaraj defeated Anna McGeeney-Abigail Duethman 8-5 and TJ’s Esther Yang and Kyla Yang topped Elizabeth Vance-Lauryn Murphy 8-4 at No. 2 doubles.
At No. 3 doubles, Notre Dame de Sion’s Claire Weber-Katherine Spenceri defeated Warda Morsy and Mayson Solum 8-5.
“We started off pretty strong in doubles,” Brumfield noted. “Our No. 1 doubles team picked it up and really came through today. They picked up our No. 3 doubles team, which usually wins. And it’s always big to get up 2-1. It was a great start.”
The match ended when the Cavaliers secured three wins in singles play.
Morsy defeated Murphy 6-1, 6-1, while Solum beat Weber 6-3, 6-3 and Kyla Yang topped Spenceri 6-2, 6-3.
“All the girls did a great job,” Brumfield said. “We picked each other up. The girls just took care of business today. It’s a big win for us and a big win for the program, so we’re pretty excited.”
Notre Dame de Sion knocked off second-seeded Carl Junction in the semifinals. Of course, the Cavaliers edged the Bulldogs 5-4 in a close dual in late September.
“We expected a very close match today,” Brumfield noted.
In recent Class 1 district title matches, Thomas Jefferson defeated Mount Vernon 5-2 in 2022, College Heights 5-1 in ’21 and Mount Vernon 5-2 in ’20.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Thomas Jefferson will take a 13-0 record into next week’s state quarterfinals.
The Cavaliers will host the District 8 champion Platte County at 2:30 p.m. on Monday in the quarterfinal round of the state tournament.
“We’re looking forward to Monday’s match,” Brumfield said. “It’s always a bonus to be able to play at home. It’s where you’re most comfortable.”
Monday’s winner will advance to the state semifinals in Springfield on Oct. 20.
