The spring season continues to be a successful one for the Thomas Jefferson Cavaliers.
Competing against larger schools, Thomas Jefferson claimed the team championship at the Joplin Invitational boys tennis tournament on Friday at the JHS athletic complex.
The Cavaliers went 13-3 overall in the invite’s four divisions. Willard went 12-4 and finished second in the team standings. The event was a five-team round-robin.
Tom Brumfield’s Cavaliers also won their own invite earlier this month and are also 10-0 in dual matches.
THOMAS JEFFERSON RESULTS
Both of Thomas Jefferson’s doubles teams won their respective brackets.
At No. 1 doubles, Thomas Jefferson’s Noah Hamlett and Tyler Brouhard went 4-0.
The Cavaliers defeated Joplin’s Ben Wardlow and Colin Vermillion 8-1, beat Branson’s Nathan Bartram and Gavin Brown 8-4, topped Carl Junction’s Cade Wilkerson and Easton Sztamenits 8-1 and defeated Willard’s Luke Christiansen and Brayden Roth 8-5.
Thomas Jefferson’s Prithvi Nagarajan and Lele Qian went 4-0 at No. 2 doubles.
The Cavaliers beat Joplin’s Hunter Merkley-Caleb Cantero 8-2, Branson’s Caleb Buxton-Jacob Decker 8-5, Carl Junction’s Jose Figueroa-Jordan Markham 8-1 and Willard’s Austin Long-Seth Miller 8-4.
At No. 1 singles, Thomas Jefferson’s Ian Ding went 3-1 to finish second.
Ding beat Joplin’s Jeffrey Evenson 8-0, Branson’s Hayes Stark 8-3 and Carl Junction’s Blaine Wilkerson 8-0. Willard’s Caiden Lingenfelser defeated Ding 8-1.
At No. 2 singles, TJ’s Christopher Wheelen went 2-2.
Wheelen beat Joplin’s Michael Mancipe 8-0 and Carl Junction’s Connor Sztamenits 8-0.
Branson’s Garrett Beckham defeated Wheelen 8-5 and Willard’s Alex Crawford edged Wheelen 8-6.
JOPLIN RESULTS
Evenson went 2-2 at No. 1 singles. He edged Branson’s Stark 8-6 and defeated Carl Junction’s Wilkerson 8-3 and lost to TJ’s Ding (8-0) and Willard’s Lingenfelser (8-1).
At No. 2 singles, Mancipe went 1-3, beating Carl Junction’s Sztamenits 8-2 and falling to Thomas Jefferson (8-0), Willard (8-0) and Branson (8-0).
At No. 1 doubles, Wardlow and Vermillion went 1-3, beating Carl Junction 8-6 and falling to Willard (8-0), Branson (8-1) and Thomas Jefferson (8-1).
Joplin’s No. 2 doubles team of Hunter Merkley-Caleb Cantero went 0-4. The Eagles lost to Thomas Jefferson 8-2, Willard 8-2, Branson 8-4 and Carl Junction 8-2.
CARL JUNCTION RESULTS
Carl Junction’s lone win of the day came at No. 2 doubles, where Figueroa-Markham beat Joplin 8-2.
WILLARD SWEEPS SINGLES
Willard’s singles players, Lingenfelser and Crawford, both went 4-0 in their brackets.
Joplin Invitational
Team standings: Thomas Jefferson 13-3, Willard 12-4, Branson 10-6, Joplin 4-12, Carl Junction 1-15.
