In a Tuesday home match, the Houston High School tennis team beat Licking for the third time this season, this time downing the county rival Wildcats 8-1.
The Tennis Tigers swept the doubles portion of the competition, with junior Connor McKinney and senior Kolten Gayer winning 8-4 in the No. 1 match, senior Waylon Collins and sophomore Jack Sandberg prevailing 9-7 in the No. 2 match and sophomores Caleb McGiboney and Riley Wilson taking the No. 3 match, 9-7.
In singles, McKinney blanked his opponent 8-0 in the No. 1 match, Gayer won 8-5 in the No. 2 match, Collins won 8-3 in the No. 3 match, McGiboney won 8-3 in the No. 4 match, Sandberg won 8-4 in the No. 5 match and sophomore Gavin Altman fell 8-0 in the No. 6 match.
Weather permitting, the Tennis Tigers (5-5-1) will compete in the Class 1 District 8 individual tournament on Thursday (May 2) at Salem.
The Class 1 District 8 team tournament begins Monday.
Houston is seeded third in the 4-team bracket and will return to Salem to take on No. 2 Salem in the semifinals, while top-seeded Osage will host No. 4 Licking in the other semifinal matchup.
The district championship match is set for Tuesday (May 7).
