The Houston High School tennis team hosted a pair of South Central Association conference matches last week, and hit the road for another on Monday of this week.
The Tigers were blanked by Salem on Tuesday, 9-0, before falling to Mountain Grove on Thursday, 6-3. Houston then met Mountain Grove again on Monday of this week and lost 9-0.
In the competition against Salem, the No. 1 singles match featured two of the best players in the conference and district, with Houston sophomore Connor McKinney losing a tight battle, 8-6.
Other players competing for Houston included junior Kolten Gayer in No. 2 singles, junior Waylon Collins in No. 3 singles, freshman Maggie Wolfe in No. 4 singles, freshman Allie Campbell in No. 5 singles and freshman Halie Hamilton in No. 6 singles.
In doubles competition, the duo of McKinney and Gayer lost 8-3 in the No. 1 match, while the Houston pairs were blanked in the No. 2 and 3 matches.
The visiting Tigers came to town with an all-senior varsity lineup, while the host Tigers have a young and inexperienced roster that includes two juniors, one sophomore and four freshmen.
“Salem is one of the better teams in the area,” said HHS head coach Josh McKinney.
Against Mountain Grove, Gayer won 9-7 in a tightly-contested second singles match, Collins prevailed 8-1 in third singles and the duo of Collins and freshman Maggie Wolfe won a back-and-forth second doubles match, 9-7.
Houston came up short in two other close matches, as McKinney and Gayer lost 8-5 in first doubles, while Wolfe was defeated 8-5 in fourth singles.
“She put in a tough effort for a freshman,” coach McKinney said.
In the rematch against Mountain Grove, McKinney lost 8-3 in first singles, while Gayer fell 8-5 in No. 2 singles, Collins lost 8-5 in third singles, Wolfe was defeated 8-2 in fourth singles, Halie Hamilton fell 8-1 in fifth singles and freshman Riley Wilson was blanked 8-0 in sixth singles. In doubles, McKinney and Gayer lost 8-2 in the No. 1 match, while Houston came up pointless in the No. 2 and No. 3 matches.
HHS 2023 TENNIS ROSTER
Name, grade
Connor McKinney, 10
Kolten Gayer, 11
Waylon Collins, 11
Maggie Wolfe, 9
Allie Campbell, 9
Halie Hamilton, 9
Riley Wilson, 9