By Don Eskins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Willard beat top-seeded Branson 5-3 in the Class 2 District 6 title match to claim the program’s first district title on Thursday.
“This was an unbelievable win for our kids and our young program today. Coach Adamson and myself are super proud of them and the efforts they put out today to capture this year’s district title,” said Tiger head coach Ty Bills. “For the past two years we’ve finished second, behind Branson, so to come here this year and watch our kids win is such a great feeling.”
“And I can’t say enough about senior Caden Lingenfelser, he’s the leader of our team, and he’s done a phenomenal job to help us get here,” said the Willard coach. “We’ll be going home today as Class 2 District 6 champions and a lot of the credit for that belongs to him.”
Following doubles play Willard was up 2-1 over Branson after their No. 1 doubles team, comprised of Lingenfelser and Brigham Thedell and their No. 2 doubles team, comprised of Dawson Amstutz and Seth Miller posted victories.
The Tigers closed out the match 5-3 after No.1 Lingenfelser, No. 2 Amstutz and No. 3 Miller grabbed victories in singles play.
For Willard’s Lingenfelser picking up this year’s district title couldn’t have come at a better time.
“Covid shut down our season my freshman year and for the past two years we’ve come up a bit short in our district final against Branson, a very good team. But we’ve been working very hard to win it all this year, especially for the past few weeks,” said the Willard senior. “But today we showed up. We got the win, the first in the school’s history. It’s a great feeling to be district champions and to do it as a senior is really sweet. To go home feeling this good is something special.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
Dawson Amstutz, also a senior, concurred.
“For the past two years Branson has always beaten us. We’ve always been second, never first. But we beat the Pirates during conference play this year, 6-3, so we entered today’s district final with some confidence,” he said. “Winning the district championship has been our goal for the past three years. Som grabbing the title today, in my senior year and against such a great team, was huge.”
Although they came up short this year Branson head coach Sean Kembell gave credit where credit was due, the Willard Tigers.
“We knew it was going to be a battle, and it was. Willard and Branson have developed quite an intense rivalry over the past couple of years. But overall, both teams played hard and had a lot of fun,” said the Branson coach. “But although we lost it wasn’t for lack of effort. Our kids couldn’t have played harder and I’m very proud of them all.”
As Class 2 District 6 champion, Willard now moves on to compete in the state quarterfinals on Monday, May 15, at the Cooper Tennis Complex. A win there would then send them on to the state tournament.
“We’ll be taking on District 7 champion Barstow. They’re a very solid team from one thru six. We just want to show up, enjoy the moment and compete,” said coach Bills. “As far as moving on to state we’ll cross that bridge if we get there. Right now, we’re focusing on Barstow.”
Class 2 District 6 Results
Doubles:
No. 1- Willard ‘s Caden Lingenfelser/Brigham Thedell defeated Branson’s Nathan Bartram/Benjamin Merrifield 8-5
No. 2- Willard’s Dawson Amstutz/Seth Miller defeated Branson’s John Dawson/Benjamin Stark 8-3
No. 3- Branson’s Preston Volz/Joshua Brown defeated Willard’s Gabriel Hernandez/Jonathan Lupescu 8-6
Singles:
No. 1- Willard’s Caden Lingenfelser defeated Branson’s Nathan Bartram 6-1, 6-1
No. 2- Willard’s Dawson Amstutz defeated Branson’s John Dawson 7-5, 6-2
No. 3- Willard’s Seth Miller defeated Branson’s Benjamin Merrifield 7-4, 6-1
No. 4- Branson’s Preston Volz defeated Willard’s Brigham Thedell 6-4, 6-2
No. 5-Willard’s Gabriel Hernandez vs Branson’s Benjamin Stark (DNF)
No. 6- Branson’s Joshua Brown defeated Willard’s Jonathan Lupescu 6-0, 6-3
