Eagle tennis team falls in state quarterfinals
The Joplin boys tennis team’s quest for a spot in the state semifinals came to an end Monday, with the Eagles falling 0-5 to perennial power Pembroke Hill in the Class 3 state quarterfinal at Joplin High School.
It was the end of four years of building a program from a 2-9 record in 2022 to two straight Central Ozark Conference and two straight district titles for four Eagle seniors — Leif Garrity, Adam Badr, Josiah Hazlewood and Oscar Kienzle.
Garrity and Badr’s season will continue as they qualified for the state doubles competition, where they will face Fort Zumwalt West’s Tanner Reese and Tristan Vaughn on Friday at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.
Pembroke Hill (10-4), which has won the last three Class 3 state titles, entered Monday’s match against the Eagles with an 8-1 record against teams from Missouri and swept the doubles competition against Joplin (18-4). Badr and Garrity fell 1-8 in the No. 1 doubles match against Pembroke Hill’s David Bell and Liam O’Keefe.
The Eagles’ No. 2 doubles team of Josiah Hazlewood and Taylor Schlag fell 0-8 to Rohan Raj and Nicholas Dunn.
Pembroke Hill went ahead 3-0 when Luke Ryan and Krish Talati defeated Joplin’s Oscar Kienzle and Jack Delman 1-8 in their No. 3 doubles match.
In the No. 1 singles match, Bell defeated Garrity 6-0, 6-0 to put Pembroke Hill a win away from the match win, and then Ryan defeated Hazlewood 6-2, 6-1 in their No. 5 doubles match to secure the win for Pembroke Hill.
Joplin head coach Ben Coltharp talked about what his four seniors have meant to the team.
“These seniors have been great leaders for the rest of the team,” Coltharp said. “But they are also competitors, they always play up a level. No match is too big for them. They play well under pressure, and at the end of the day, they are just great competitors.”
Garrity, who watched his team improve from a combined 7-24 record his first two years to a 33-6 record his junior and senior seasons, shared his thoughts on the program’s rise.
“I’m proud of everyone on the team. All six spots put in the work every day,” Garrity said. “We had some close games, pulled them out and won districts and conference in back-to-back years. That’s probably what I am most proud of.”
Kienzle also weighed in on the past four years.
“I’m proud of our guys’ commitment to the sport,” Kienzle said. “I came in our sophomore year and we were not very good. But we grinded and grinded, and all the guys were so committed.”
“We had a great season. We ended up 18-4,” Coltharp said. “I still think we are one of the top public schools in the state. I feel comfortable saying that. We are looking forward to next year.”
