Republic entered the Class 2, District 12 tennis championship as a heavy favorite.
The Tigers did not disappoint.
After winning its first-ever COC Large conference championship last week, Republic rolled through second-seed Nixa 5-1 on Wednesday to claim the school's first district tennis title, as well.
Tigers head coach Dan Vales stressed the importance of building momentum heading into postseason play.
"Having that conference tournament championship under our belt, that builds a lot of confidence for this team," Vales said. "We knew that, in most of these matches, we should be the favorite. We knew if we could just pull out a couple of the close ones, we should be able to roll, and that's kind of how it worked out."
PHOTOS: REPUBLIC VS. NIXA TENNIS
Still, after their 6-3 regular season victory over Nixa was filled with close matches, the Tigers may have felt they had something to prove in the final.
Mission accomplished.
While the Tigers showcased strong play at the top from seniors Michael Nacy and Bradley Hendrix, the day's brightest star belonged to Gabe Bandfield.
Republic's No. 3 singles player threw down a pair of perfect scores on the afternoon. After Bandfield and Case Birlew won their No. 3 doubles match 8-0 over Noah Davidson and Tanner Powley, Bandfield quickly dispatched Jose Alcontara 6-0, 6-0.
"Case and I have been playing really well lately, so I was really looking forward to winning our doubles match," Bandfield said. "As it goes for singles, I played [Alcontara] earlier in the season, and it was a pretty close match. I really wanted to focus on my side of the court, take advantage of my aggressive forehand, get up to the net and just everything that Coach has been telling me all four years I've been playing here."
Vales was quick to praise Bandfield.
"I told him he got a triple-bagel," Vales said. "He didn't even know what a bagel was. Gabe had a huge day today. He's really peaking and coming on at the right time of year, so I'm really proud of what he's done this year as a senior."
The day's closest battle was found within No. 1 doubles. After falling to Nixa's Garrett Bacon and Briggs Boyd during the regular season, Republic's Michael Nacy and Austin Massey found themselves in yet another tooth-and-nail affair. The match went back and forth over its duration, with neither team able to gain a secure foothold. After both squads remained deadlocked at 8-8, the match went to a seven-point tiebreaker.
Nacy and Massey quickly took advantage of some untimely Nixa errors, captured the 7-1 tiebreaker and secured the victory for Republic.
For Nixa and head coach Slade Snowden, the season-ending loss was littered with similar missed opportunities.
"Obviously, we didn't play all the way through in this format," Snowden said. "We potentially could have gotten a few more wins. Consistency has been our Achilles heel this season. We play well one day, and the next day we wouldn't. Today was one of those days where we just weren't keeping the ball in, and that's consistency."
Nixa freshman Ben Boyd notched the lone Eagles' win on the day with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Dylan Mackey in No. 4 singles; however, it was too late to stem the tide.
While Republic (16-1) awaits its sectional draw, the team is set for Thursday's individual district play in Nixa.
Republic – 5, Nixa – 1
Doubles Results
#1 – Republic – Michael Nacy/Austin Massey def. Garrett Bacon/Briggs Boyd, 9-8 (7-1)
#2 – Republic – Bradley Hendrix/Dylan Mackey def. Jose Alcantara/Ben Boyd, 8-1
#3 – Republic – Gabe Bandfield/Case Birlew def. Noah Davidson/Tanner Powley, 8-0
Singles Results
#4 – Nixa – Ben Boyd def. Dylan Mackey 6-3, 6-3
#3 – Republic – Gabe Bandfield def. Jose Alcantara 6-0, 6-0
#6 – Republic – Case Birlew def. Tanner Powley 6-2, 6-2
