By Staff

Joplin wins Kickapoo Team Tennis Invitational

By Pat Dailey (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

SPRINGFIELD — All eyes for the most part were on Joplin’s Garrett Lewis and Catholic’s Jason Nayar doing their No. 1 singles showdown at the Kickapoo Invitational on Thursday, even if all ears always weren’t.

As Lewis cruised to a 6-2 triumph over Nayar, they were surrounded on adjoining courts by teammates locked in emotion-filled, hotly-contested matches.

Amidst the chaos, Lewis and Nayar went about their business with nary a word say about any ball called out.

“We’re both the captains of our team, so we have to lead by example,” Lewis said. “I heard a lot of stuff going on. I did my best to try to ignore them and tune them out while we were in the middle of a point.”

Lewis added the mutual respect he and Nayar share made it easy for them to trust each other’s line calls.

“I used to drive to Springfield and play him just for fun,” Lewis said. “I hadn’t played him for a while until this year, when we’ve played twice. We’ve had great, long, drawn-out matches that were a lot of fun.

“It’s different playing him than most players because we’re friends. Obviously, when we’re on the court it’s all business. But we talk during changeovers sometimes. I have the utmost respect for Jason. He’s a great sport.”

Lewis’ quickness stood out as he improved to 18-0. He deftly darted from one corner of the baseline to the other to track down nearly everything hit his way.

“I felt great today,” Lewis said. “I felt like I was grinding the ball well. My serve was a little off. I wish I could have served better. But I felt like I was stroking the ball well from the baseline. My forehand felt great and I hit a lot of backhands down the line.”

Lewis jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Nayar while breaking his serve in the opening game.

“I felt the momentum shift when I broke his serve,” Lewis said. “I knew I could hold my serve the rest of the match.”

Lewis’ win lifted Joplin to a 5-4 victory over Catholic. The Eagles were 4-0 on the day after downing Nixa 5-2, sweeping Glendale 5-0 and edging Ozark 5-3.

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE TOURNAMENT

“Joplin isn’t used to beating some of these schools,” Lewis said. “It feels great.”

Lewis and Gus Garcia improved to 13-0 at No. 1 doubles. They rallied for a 7-5 win over Nayar and Luke Steiner, who both made State for the Irish last year.

“Gus and I have been through a lot together,” Lewis said. “This was the closest match we’ve had this season. It was a challenge, being behind. But we communicated and found a way to fight through it.”

“We were down most of the match, but then we started feeling good and ended up taking it,” Garcia said. “We started attacking more, while we were up at the net.”

Garcia was 4-0 at No. 2 singles. He gained a 6-3 No. 1 singles over Catholic’s Luke Steiner, despite dealing with cramps in both of his legs.

“I started to cramp up about mid-match,” Garcia said. “Every time I hit a backhand, my left calf would cramp up. Then, I hit an overhead and my right calf started to cramp up. This is the first time that has happened to me. I was a little worried and tried to be careful. I didn’t want to move too much or hit with my backhand because I knew my left calf would cramp up.”

Kickapoo’s No. 1 doubles team of Matthew Zengel and Caden Hillman upped their record to 14-0.

The instant success of Zengel, a sophomore, and Hillman, a freshman, is no coincidence. They already had a history together prior to this year.

“We’ve been playing together for a while, since I was 10 and he was 12,” Hillman said. “We’ve always gotten along well. He’s quirky, so we get along quite well. We keep it fun.”

“When we first knew each other, I usually didn’t talk to him because I would hit with another friend, who eventually moved to Florida,” Zengel said. “Eventually, though, we started to become friends and then we were in the same academy.

“We complement each other well. We joke around. But the harder the match, the more serious we are.”

Zengel and Hillman teamed for a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles over Nayar and Steiner.

Zengel lost to Nayar 7-5 Thursday after falling to him 8-4 Tuesday.

Coach Eric Wilbur said the Chiefs haven’t made any decision, yet, on whether Zengel and Hillman will play singles or doubles at Districts.

“We had that discussion last night,” Wilbur said. “I kind of put some feelers out there. They’re mulling that over. We have until Tuesday of next week to submit our entries.

“They’ve looked sharp as a doubles team and have good chemistry. Their singles game has been good, too. It’s a fun time of the year. It’s neat to see them excel at what their craft is. I hope it all turns out the way we want it to.”

“I’m not leaning either way,” Zengel said. “It’ll be interesting. There are a lot of good players in our District.”