Continuing what is evolving into a successful season, the Houston High School tennis team took second on Wednesday at the Salem Invitational tournament.
The five-team field included Houston, Licking, Mountain Grove, Marshfield and Salem.
HHS head coach Josh McKinney had to field two singles players and two doubles teams in each draw. In singles, seniors Kaleb McGiboney and Jack Sandberg played for Houston, and in doubles it was seniors Gavin Altman and Riley Wilson in one pairing and sophomore Elijah Jones and freshman Ty Bratt in the other.
In singles, McGiboney placed second, winning 8-0 his first match and 8-3 in the semifinal against the Licking No. 1 (who he lost to the day before). He then lost 8-2 in the final to the Salem No. 1 player.
Meanwhile, Sandberg placed fifth overall, winning 8-5 against the Marshfield No. 2 in his first match and losing in the semifinals to Salem No. 1, 8-1. He then moved into the consolation bracket and lost his next match to Salem No. 3, 6-4.
In doubles, Altman and Wilson placed fourth overall. They lost their first match to Salem, 8-2. In the consolation bracket, they beat their teammates Jones and Bratt, 6-4, and then played Marshfield’s No. 1 duo and won, 6-4, before losing to the same Salem team in the third-place match, 6-2.
Jones and Bratt lost their first match to Salem, 8-0 and then played the Mountain Grove No. 2 pair and won, 6-4, before losing to Altman and Wilson.
“This is the best finish we have had as team while I have been coach,” McKinney said. “I was very proud of our team and thought we played really well – and better than anticipated.”
Houston’s roster has four seniors with significant experience. McKinney hopes his team can make a run at a South Central Association conference championship.
“I think the team is improving every practice and match,” he said. “This year, I have about four or five players who could all beat the other any day, so our lineup is changing and could still change before conference and districts. I feel like we could be a threat in the SCA if those players keep improving and challenging each other. Our new players on varsity and JV are improving faster than I expected and my four seniors are learning and developing as players and trying to add new strategies and concepts to their games.”
Next up for the Tennis Tigers (2-3, 1-2 SCA) is an SCA match against Liberty on Tuesday (April 14) at Mountain View.
