By Don Eskins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Upsets highlighted play at this year’s Class 3 District 5 tennis tournament held at the Gillenwaters Tennis Complex in Springfield on Friday (Oct. 2).
Ozark’s Melissa Peralta, who entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed, defeated top seeded Erin Jarvis of Springfield Catholic 6-1, 6-3 to claim this year’s Class 3 District 5 singles title.
In doubles competition Springfield Catholic’s Jenna Swope and Claire Griesemer, who also entered the tournament as a No. 2 seed, rallied to upend Kickapoo’s number one seeded Esther Choe and Brynley Brotherton 7-6, 6-0.
According to Ozark head coach Mark McBain, Peralta, a foreign exchange student from Mexico, showed a lot of poise in claiming this year’s district title.
“It was a big win for both Melissa and the Tigers,” said the Ozark coach. “Jarvis is without a doubt one of the top players in the area.”
“Melissa played great defense though, was very patient and hit with a lot of power,” said McBain. “I think, after having lost to Jarvis a couple of weeks ago, rallying to get a victory in the finals of the district tournament says a lot about her. She was very determined and all our kids were rooting for her.”
Following Peralta’s win the Ozark Tigers stormed the court to congratulate her.
“It was really a very special moment for Melissa and as she walked off the court we could all see a few tears in her eyes,” said McBain. “When she reached our bench she couldn’t wait to call home and give her mother in Tepic, Mexico the good news. She had won a district championship on her mother’s birthday.”
Although finishing second Jarvis will still qualify to compete in this year’s state tournament. But not picking up a district title was difficult for the Irish senior.
“This was a tough loss for Erin,” said Catholic head coach Martin Versteeg. “But Erin has been battling through some adversity. She has a shoulder problem that’s been causing her some difficulty and because of it has been serving underhanded. But for the past few days she’s been working on coming over the top again in anticipation of district and state competition. But, at the moment, things haven’t been going well for her on the court when she does. There’s still some soreness in her shoulder and her timing has been off.”
“But we have to give Melissa a lot of credit. Erin beat her a couple of weeks ago but since then she seems to have stepped her game up a bunch,” said Versteeg. “Today she looked a lot different.”
While the Irish may have come up a bit short in the district singles final they got a huge surprise in the doubles.
“Our doubles team of Jenna Swope and Calire Griesemer surprised us all in their victory over Kickapoo’s No. 1 seeded Esther Choe and Brynley Brotherton,” said the Irish coach. “They had already lost to them twice this year but things were different for them out on the court today.”
“Claire and Jenna picked up a lot of steam with every match they won in the tournament,” he said. “After beating Marissa Scott and Jadyn Wersinger, also of Kickapoo, 6-3, 6-1 in the semis they entered the final with a lot of confidence. I’m really proud of how they bounced back, from two earlier losses to Kickapoo’s Choe and Brotherton, to get a district title today.”
As the district’s runner-up, Choe and Brotherton will also advance on to state.
C3D5 Tournament Results
Singles Semi-Finals
Erin Jarvis (SC) def Hannah Metcalf (Ozark) 6-1, 6-0
Melissa Peralta (Ozark) def Arabella Cosgrove (Nixa) 6-0, 6-0a
Singles Championship
1. Melissa Peralta (Ozark) def 2. Erin Jarvis (SC) 6-1, 6-3
3. Arabella Cosgrove (Nixa) def 4. Hannah Metcalf (Ozark) 8-3
Doubles Semi-Finals
Esther Choe/Brynley Brotherton (KHS) def Megan Brassard/Olivia Engelman (Nixa) 6-2, 6-2
Jenna Swope/Claire Griesemer (SC) def Marrisa Scott/JadynWersinger (KHS) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles Championsip
1. Jenna Swope/Claire Griesemer (SC) def 2. Esther Choe/Brynley Brotherton (KHS) 7-6, 6-0
3. Marissa Scott/Jadyn Wersinger (KHS) def Megan Brassard/Olivia Engelman (Nixa) 8-6
