Carbondale handles SHS netters
SIKESTON - The Sikeston tennis team fell to 5-2 on the season with an 8-1 loss to Carbondale, Ill., on Monday.
The Bulldogs will be back in action today at Kennett at 4 p.m.
"Carbondale's got a very strong team," said Sikeston head coach Brian James. "They basically handled us pretty good up and down the lineup. We were in several matches, in fact we were up late in many matches, but we couldn't find a way to win those close ones. We've got to use this as a learning experience and get better at closing out matches. You can only learn by being in those situations."
Sikeston's only victory of the day came from sophomore Marc Leible, an 8-6 winner against Michael Gross.
"Leible is a good singles player," said James. "He's getting better and better. He's a very consistent player for us and he has been the last two years he's been with us. He's getting more confident and he's still improving."
In other matches, Carbondale's Stephen Yau beat Peter Jones 8-0; Larry Spears beat Ryne Vickery 8-5; Doug Scheffer beat Chris Robey 9-7; Aki Shimada beat Kyle Weeks 8-5; and Mohan Kachgal beat Logan Wagoner 8-4.
In doubles, Spears/Gross beat Vickery/Jones 8-4; Yau/Scheffer beat Robey/Weeks 8-2; and Shimada and Bernie Lee beat Leible/Wagoner 8-5.
Carbondale also won the junior varsity match 5-0.
CHARLESTON -- Charleston's tennis team made quick work of Poplar Bluff on Monday, sweeping the Mules 9-0.
"It was good to finally get to play," said Charleston coach Mitch Baker. "We've only played once in the last two weeks, and haven't gotten to practice much because of the weather. We were not very crisp, but that was to be expected."
In varsity singles, Alec Peterson defeated Bluff's Drew Schuermann 8-1. In the No. 2 spot, Kyle Kemp beat Bluff's Spencer Piland 8-2. At No. 3, Blake Branum blanked Bluff's Jared Killpack 8-0.
In the fourth spot, Lee Hess defeated Bluff's Andrew Harper 8-1. Derek Hoppe swept Bluff's Chad Reed 8-0, then Jake Garrard blanked Bluff's John Wycik 8-0.
In varsity doubles, Peterson and Kemp beat Schuermann and Piland 8-1, Branum and Hess defeated Killpack and Harper 8-2, then Hoppe and Gerrard beat Reed and Wycik 8-2.
"We didn't play as well in doubles, but hopefully getting another match under our belt will help," said Baker. "Hopefully we can get a few more in before districts. I was proud of the way we played."
Charleston (8-1) will travel to Cape Central today for a 4 p.m. match.
In Monday's junior varsity match, Charleston singles winners were Josh Moxley, Drew Kemp and Dimitri Task. The doubles team of Moxley and Kemp also won.