By Don Eskins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Willard Tigers rode the efforts of singles champion Caden Lingenfelser to grab the 2021 Springfield Invitational Championship at the Cooper Tennis Complex on Wednesday.
It was a big day for the Tigers, a day that somewhat even surprised their coach.
“All we asked of our kids today was that they go out and compete. I didn’t expect that we’d wind up the day finishing the way we did,” said Tiger coach Ty Bills. “It’s a credit to our kids though. They all worked hard during the off-season and Caden, although just a sophomore, has pushed everyone to get better.”
“I’m really excited for our kids and their performance today has really helped our program,” he said. “Our program is only three years old so this has really been a big deal for us.”
Lingenfelser defeated Jefferson City’s Josh Wilde 9-7 in the tournament final.
“Josh was really tough and our match turned out to be a real slugfest,” said the Tiger’s No. 1 singles player. “Josh is a good friend though and we go way back. I wouldn’t have wanted to play anyone else in the championship final.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE TOURNAMENT
“To win the singles championship felt great,” said Lingenfelser. “But I feel like it was an accomplishment, not only for me, but also for our team and school.”
“Caden is very talented and works extremely hard,” said Bills. “He’s just an all-around great kid who doesn’t show a whole lot of emotion very often. Today though, he got to do even a little bit of that. We’re all really proud of him.”
Grabbing this year’s doubles title were Bolivar’s Kyle Pock and Lathan Martin. Martin and Pock defeated Rock Bridge’s Will McAllister and Will Forsyth 8-6.
“We really didn’t expect that we’d win today,” said Pock. “We we’re looking forward though to the competition we’d find here to get better. But to pick up a double’s championship against a very good Rock Bridge team feels great.”
“Rock Bridge was very good and it took our best effort to get the win,” said Martin. “One of their kids had great ground strokes and a big serve. We just tried to keep the rallies going and wait for them to make a mistake.
Second place in the tournament went to Rock Bridge with Bolivar finishing third. Trophies went out to the top two teams. Medals were presented to first, second, third and fourth place finishers in both singles and doubles.
“We had 19 teams out here today with so many levels of competition. But we all had fun,” said Central’s Donita Cox. “It’s still early in the season though so this tournament has allowed for kids to look around at the quality of play in our area. It’s given them a better idea of just how much better there going to have to get to compete as the season continues to move along.”
Results- Top 3 Teams
1. Willard- 19.5
2. Rock Bridge- 16.5
3. Bolivar- 13.5
4. West Plains- 9.5
5. Central- 8.5
T6. Kickapoo- 6
T6. Nixa- 6
T6. Jefferson City- 6
Singles
1. Caden Lingenfelser (Willard) def 2. Josh Wilde (Jeff City) 9-7
3. Caden Hillman (Kickapoo) def 4. Akhilan Elangovan (Rockbridge) 8-3
Doubles
1. Kyle Pock & Lathan Martin (Bolivar) def 2. Will McAllister & Will Forsyth (Rock Bridge) 8-6
3. Luke Christensen & Brayden Roth (Willard) def 4. Daegen Green & Ayden Hollis (West Plains) 8-3
