The Waynesville Tennis team honored their seniors well on Senior Night taking a 6-3 win against Osage.  Starting off with doubles, the Tigers looked like they were in for a rough night. Our #2 doubles team took a strong lead early with a lot of aggressive play at the net.  Our #1 and #3 teams looked like they were in for some trouble, however.  On court 3, David Sneed and Eromo Aligbe maintained a one game deficit until the very end.  At 6-7, Sneed and Aligbe pulled ahead with three straight wins to take the W at 9-7.  We just struggled to keep the ball away from the net player.  Once we finally got the ball away from our opponent at net, we saw much more success.  Court 1 made a huge comeback.  Down 1-4 almost immediately, I was worried about Seniors Steven Berrios and Derick Anglin.  Next at 2-5, the boys got a win on that changeover to help them build some momentum.  From there, the boys won the next 2 matches to bring them to a 4-5 deficit.  After ending with a 5-6 score at the next changeover, the boys took 3 wins in a row to steal the match at 8-6.  I’m so proud of these two boys.  The maturity and leadership they have displayed this year has just been phenomenal.  They are fighters, they’re mentally tough, and they don’t like to lose.  They’ve played a very hard schedule this year.  Stepping into that #1 spot is a difficult task to take.  These boys are competing against some of MO’s greatest hitters in this sport.  Typically, high school tennis players win on consistency.  Usually, you win because your opponent made more mistakes.  That’s a much harder strategy to play at #1 however.  You’re playing against the most consistent players, all who compete on a much high strategic level.  Steven and Derick have done a very good job of competing at this level.  Their drive always makes for a great match to watch, win or lose.  On court 2, Tyler and Cameron played a very good doubles match.  Tyler is very aggressive.  Our team joke is to never let Tyler get the ball at net, or you’ll never see the ball again.  He has a tendency to smash them so hard they bounce up and over the fence.  That, coupled with Cameron’s wide-angled shots, they have a tendency to set each other up for success on the court.  They compliment each other well and work very well together as a team. 

Singles winners included David Sneed, Cameron Martell, and Eromo Aligbe.  All three of those boys are solid, dependable players on the court and each play the game in their own way.  Sneed is extremely aggressive.  He likes to play net and spends a great deal of time in the air smashing opponents’ shots back in their face.  Cameron plays a game of strategy.  He tends to move his opponent side-to-side along the baseline, forcing his opponent to run.  Eromo has mastered the drop shot.  He plays a lot of slice & lob, pushing his opponent forward and back, but is a very consistent player himself.  

Also honored for Senior Night were Bryan Hudson, John Pollman, Dominic Williams, Lindzie King, and Helene Houston.  Bryan, John, and Dominic will all receive Varsity letters this year, despite playing at the JV level during this match.  This is such a fun group of boys, and they will be leaving a huge hole in our team next year as they move on their next stage of life.  Lindzie and Helene are both team managers, as well as players on my girl’s team.  I work these girls hard, and they have been huge assets to our team.  They travel with us, practice with us, and both have a heart for helping and serving their team.  With this being Lindzie’s 8^th season working with me, she knows exactly what I need when I need it.  She’s been a great help to me over the past four year and has helped trained many managers along the way.  Next year, will be very different training someone new to take that manager spot. 

The Tigers have one more dual together as a full team, as they travel to Willow Springs on Monday.

Singles

Steven Berrios vs. Roman Trowbridge, 2-8

Tyler Gayman vs. Grant Naudet, 8-9 (2-7)

David Sneed vs. Mitchell Turner, 8-2

Derick Anglin vs. Kevin Albers, 6-8

Cameron Martell vs. Logan Havner, 8-2

Eromo Aligbe vs. Logan Benedict, 8-1

Doubles

Berrios/Anglin vs. Trowbridge/Naudet, 8-6

Gayman/Martell vs. Turner/Havner, 8-4

Sneed/Aligbe vs. Albers/Benedict, 9-7