By Don Eskins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Central Bulldogs bested the field at the Kickapoo Invitational Tournament on Friday, at Gillenwaters Tennis Courts, in Springfield.
The Bulldogs downed the host Kickapoo Chiefs in their final pairing of the day, in the round robin style event, to grab this year’s tournament title.
Also participating were the Glendale Falcons, who finished third, and the Springfield Catholic Fighting Irish, who placed fourth. Rounding out the tournament field were the Bolivar Liberators and the Parkview Vikings.
Central High head coach Donita Cox said her kids were ready to play and focused on grabbing this year’s KIT title as play got underway.
“Our kids had a goal when they came here this morning and that goal was to win this tournament,” said the Bulldog coach. “With that in mind they approached today’s event in a very professional manner and got it done.”
“They’ve worked really hard for the past several years to get to this point. Now they’re reaping the benefits of all that hard work,” said Cox. “They’re such a great group of kids both on and off the court and I’m so very proud of each and every one of them.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE TOURNAMENT
Joshua Kim, who anchors down the Bulldogs’ No. 1 spot, said there was also something else that helped motivate them to capture this year’s title.
“We expect to win every time we take the court,” said Kim. “But we were this year’s defending champions and we wanted to make sure we didn’t give it up. We were all happy that we were able to repeat.”
“We definitely expected to win again this year,” Central’s Raghav Bansil said. “But things went much better for us than we expected. Everybody played exceptionally well, and we dominated the tournament.”
Overall, according to tournament director and Kickapoo head coach Eric Wilbur, the tournament moved smoothly and showcased many of the top high school tennis players in the area and the state.
“It was a good tournament, unlike last year the weather was very good, and we saw some really good competition from players on all six teams,” said Wilbur. “But in the end it was Central who rose up to claim this year’s Kickapoo Invitational championship.”
Wilbur was especially pleased with the demeanor of all the tournament’s participants.
“All of our competitors seemed to be happy today. That’s largely due to the coaches. They’ve all tried to instill in their kids, not only a degree of competitiveness and sportsmanship, but also to just have fun,” he said. “That’s what tennis is all about, it’s a fun sport.”
Kickapoo’s Jeff Bai agreed.
“Our team is more like a family. We always play hard but it’s not just about tennis. For us it’s more about giving our best efforts and having fun in the process,” said Bai. “When we’re having fun most of the time we win. Although that didn’t happen today we did do our best and we did have a good time. That’s what families do. Now it’s on to our next tournament.”
