For the second straight year, Houston High School’s tennis ace Connor McKinney is the South Central Association conference champion in singles.
McKinney, a junior, defended his crown by sweeping his four matches at the 2024 SCA Tournament Wednesday at Salem. He came into the event as the top seed and easily advanced to the semifinals, where he beat the No. 5 seed 8-4.
McKinney then dominated the final, blanking a tough No. 2 seed, 8-0.
HHS head coach Josh McKinney (Connor’s father) didn’t feel like his top player was in top form in the semifinal, but was highly impressed by the result of the final.
“I thought it was the best match I’ve seen him play in his three years of high school tennis,” coach McKinney said. “It was the type of match I could sit back as a coach and just watch and not have to make adjustments or do a whole lot of coaching.”
With the victory, McKinney became the first ever back-to-back singles champion. The four match wins at the tournament improved his overall season record to 23-2.
“This was a great result,” coach McKinney said, “and hopefully will propel him the rest of the year.”
Houston finished third in the team standings, as Willow Springs won the conference championship and Mountain Grove took second.
The HHS duo if senior Kolten Gayer and sophomore Maggie Wolfe were the No. 4 seed in the tournament’s doubles bracket, and advanced to the quarterfinals before losing a close match against a pair from Mountain Grove, 8-6.
Gayer had played with Connor McKinney all year until this tournament, compiling an impressive 12-1 doubles record. The result left him at 13-2 in doubles and 18-3 overall.
HHS sophomores Jack Sandberg and Caleb McGiboney (both newcomers to the HHS squad) competed in doubles and won their first match 9-8 in a tiebreaker before falling to the second-seeded team from Salem in the quarterfinals, 8-2.
“I really saw some growth in that match – against a tough team – for just starting a month ago,” coach McKinney said. “Both of them have made significant progress this season and show a willingness to work hard and a want to develop over summer for next year.”
In singles, Houston senior Waylon Collins won his first match 8-5 against a Salem player and then fell to the No. 2 seed from Willow Springs, 8-1.
“He played maybe his best match of the year but lost,” coach McKinney said. “I was happy to see him play really well, as the match was closer than the score indicates.”
Salem will host the upcoming Class 1 District 8 Tournament, featuring Houston, Licking and Osage.
“All in all, I thought our team played well,” coach McKinney said, “and it’s our best result as a team since I have been coaching. I’m looking forward to districts and feel that we may be able to advance further this year.”