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By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
BRANSON — Within an hour Wednesday, Garrett Beckham endured pain like he’d never felt before, yet enjoyed the thrill of victory like no other win he’d ever been a part of.
Beckham rallied for a three-set triumph at No. 4 singles to cap Branson’s 5-4 win over Willard in the Class 2 District 6 championship match. The title tilt took four hours and 30 minutes to complete.
The District title for the Pirates is only the second in their program’s history. Coach Sean Kembell’s bunch advances to Sectionals next week at Class 2 District 5 champion Sedalia Smith-Cotton.
Beckham was mobbed on the court by his Branson teammates after his victory. But near the end of the second set of his match against Willard’s Brayden Roth, Beckham hobbled off the court on one foot. He grimaced and screamed due to a calf cramp in his right leg.
“I’d never had a calf cramp before and I was thinking, ‘This is the worst thing I’ve ever experienced,’” Beckham said. “I was like, ‘What is going on with my leg?’ By the end of the match, my thigh was beginning to hurt. I was thinking, ‘Am I going to get a thigh cramp, as well?’”
Beckham took a break of more than 10 minutes while re-hydrating himself.
“I started chugging liquids. I think I drank three bottles of Gatorade and four bottles of water,” he said. “Finally, I got better.”
Beckham went on to even the match up at one set by winning the second set. But Roth regained the momentum by bolting to a 4-1 lead in the third set.
At that juncture, Beckham was intent on improving his ground strokes.
“I needed to hit through the ball as best I could,” Beckham said. “A killer forehand started coming out and I was thinking, ‘Thank you!’”
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As all the other matches were completed and the teams were tied at 4-all, Beckham stormed back for a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory.
“There was definitely a lot of pressure,” Beckham said. “It makes me feel like if I’m in another pressure situation like that, I’ll be good.”
It was Beckham’s first win against Roth in their three singles matches this season.
“Sometimes, you have to dig as deep as you possibly can,” said Kembell, a former Missouri State player. “This team has a ton of heart. Garrett was playing a brick wall. Brayden was a machine. The only way for Garrett to beat him was to expend more energy than Brayden. That’s what he did. He left it all out on the court. We’re proud of him.”
Beckham also responded well to pressure at No. 3 doubles. With Willard up 2-0 after wins at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles, Beckham and Jake Decker gave Branson its first victory by pulling out an 8-6 triumph.
Like Beckham, Decker won twice. Decker was a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victor at No. 6 singles.
Branson took four of the six singles matches, after losing two of three doubles matches.
Nathan Bartram rolled to a 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles against Alex Crawford. The 5-foot-8 Bartram wasn’t intimidated by the 6-4 Crawford.
“I like being the underdog and having something to fight for,” Bartram said. “I hit my passing shots and lobs well against him. He’s good at the net. Whenever he would come to net, I had to get it past him.
“Nathan is very difficult to play because he has an unorthodox game,” Kembell said.
Willard sophomore Caden Lingenfelser will enter State unbeaten. He upped his singles record with a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles against Gavin Brown.
“I’ve exceeded my goals that I had for myself this year,” Lingenfelser said. “I came into this season with a positive attitude and was looking to win everything. But I don’t think I expected this. It’s been nice to have all my hard work pay off.”
Lingenfelser repeatedly broke Brown’s serve.
“I wanted to break him as many times as possible,” Lingenfelser said. “If I win on (an opponent’s) serve, that gets in their head and it can go all downhill for them.”
Willard was looking to capture a District title in only the second season the school has had a tennis program. Lingenfelser and his father were instrumental in convincing the school board to sponsor tennis three years ago.
Lingenfelser is glad he didn’t have to make the decision whether to transfer if Willard hadn’t picked up tennis.
“I love Willard. It’s an excellent school and I have tons of friends there,” he said. “I love tennis, too. I think if it would have come down to it, I don’t think I would have made a move to a different school because I love Willard.”
Lingenfelser vows to stay with the same approach at State that he’s employed all season.
“I’m going in trying not to think too much,” he said. “I don’t want to think about anyone else’s skill level. I just want to play my game and proceed.”
Branson 5 Willard 4
Singles
No. 1 — Caden Lingenfelser (W) def. Gavin Brown (B) 6-4 6-2; No. 2 — Nathan Bartram (B) def. Alex Crawford (W) 6-0 6-4; No. 3 — Luke Christensen (W) def. Hayes Stark 6-3 3-6 5-7; No. 4 — Garrett Beckham (B) def. Brayden Roth (W) 5-7 6-2 7-5; No. 5 — Caleb Buxton (B) def. Austin Long (W) 7-5 7-5; No. 6 Jake Decker (B) def. Seth Miller (W) 4-6 6-3 6-3.
Doubles
No. 1 — Lingenfelser/Roth def. Brown/Stark 8-6; No. 2 — Long/Crawford def. Stark/Buxton 8-6; No. 3 — Decker/Beckham def. Miller/Christensen 8-6.
