At the 2026 South Central Association conference tennis tournament last Thursday at Salem, Houston High School seniors Jack Sandberg and Kaleb McGiboney won the doubles championship.
Houston placed fourth in the team standings.
Seeded third in the bracket, Sandberg and McGiboney had a bye in the first round. They then played a Salem duo in their first match, and fell behind early before prevailing, 8-5. They then met the second-seeded pair from Willow Springs (who had beaten them earlier in the season) and won, 8-3.
The HHS duo advanced to the final to play a good Mountain Grove team and played great to win, 8-1.
“I really thought Jack and Kaleb played at a top level,” said HHS head coach Josh McKinney. “I was glad to see them win, because I know how hard they work.”
In singles, senior Gavin Altman and sophomore Michael Perez played for Houston.
Altman played his first match against a player from Liberty and won, 8-2. He then played the No. 2 seed from Salem and lost 8-1.
“His match against Salem was closer than the score showed,” McKinney said, “and I thought he played two of his best matches of the season.”
Perez lost his first match to a Mountain Grove player, 8-0.
“It was Michael’s first varsity match, and he is also on the track team and doesn’t get as much practice time as other players,” McKinney said. “I thought he did a good job filling in and played pretty well for his level at this time.”
Houston’s other doubles pair – senior Riley Wilson and freshman Ty Bratt – lost to a Willow Springs duo, 8-2.
“I was really proud of how well all the kids played,” McKinney said. “We have been getting better over the course of the year.”
The Tennis Tigers play this week in the Class 1 District 5 Individual Tournament at Logan-Rogersville. The team district tournament is set for May 4-6, also at Logan-Rogersville.
