By Shelley Ebbrecht (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Central tennis announced its presence in the Ozark Conference by winning the team championship on Tuesday.
The team met crosstown rival Kickapoo in the championship round and took doubles 2-1 before claiming the crown 5-2 Tuesday at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.
“This is our first year playing the conference, so it’s a great start for the Central tennis team,” said Central’s Evelyn VanDenBerg.
VanDenBerg, Central’s No.1 singles player, said picking up the advantage in the doubles round made all the difference in the championship match.
“Doubles is everything to put a start to the match,” she said. “Playing Kickapoo, they’re a really tough team, so putting us ahead with two doubles was a really great achievement.”
Central and Kickapoo had met twice previously in the regular season and split matches with each taking a win. Kickapoo was given the No.1 seed in the conference tournament, but Central’s coach Donita Cox said the team didn’t mind coming in as the underdog.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE TOURNAMENT
“We knew we could do it,” Cox said. “We weren’t taking anything for granted and just took it one step at a time. We try not to overlook any team, give respect to every team, and just keep plugging away.”
The Lady Bulldogs’ attitude and inner strength is their secret to success on the court.
“These girls are so fantastic, they have that inner strength that pushes them through, and that’s what happened today,” Cox said. “We may not be better players than they are, but today we were tougher.”
Central had to first play their way to the championship, picking up 5-0 wins over both Waynesville and Glendale to make it to the finals.
“We started out the day playing Waynesville and then Glendale who is a tougher opponent, so progressively our day got harder and harder until we finally met our rival Kickapoo,” said Central’s Madeleine Fulk.
All in all, it was a great day for tennis with perfect conditions at Cooper Sports Complex. Kickapoo’s coach Eric Wilbur was the director of the tournament and said it was as good an event as any.
“Today was phenomenal, not only in the weather, but you saw a seventh place team playing their heart out against the eighth place team all the way up to the first and second place team with Kickapoo and Central,” Wilbur said. “That’s what high school athletics should be at its finest—everybody out there doing their best and also having fun.”
All teams will be playing in their respective District Tournaments next week, with team play beginning Monday.
Team results
1. Central
2. Kickapoo
3. Lebanon
4. Glendale
5. Camdenton
6. Rolla
7. West Plains
8. Waynesville
9. Parkview
10. Hillcrest
