By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
CHILLICOTHE - The objective for the Savannah tennis team members who competed in Friday's sectional was simple.
Win, and you're in.
The Savages, once again, made it look easy on the tennis court Friday, going 3-for-3 on the day and qualifying the doubles entries of Drew and Matt Collier, Connor Peek and Evan Heftye, along with the singles entry of Cole Horton, for the MSHSAA state individual tennis tournament in Springfield next week.
"I am so excited for these fellas," Savannah coach Wakefield Hare said. "There's just so much that's already set before we even came to Chillicothe today. That had to do with the work we put in both mentally and physically.
"You love to see that work play out for the guys. Because, sometimes it doesn't go your way. But today, they were able to put it all together."
Horton, a freshman, breezed through another postseason match, taking down Carrollton senior Luke Davis 6-0, 6-0.
"I feel like I did very well today," Horton said. "It was good conditions. I had a really fun time. The player was very good. I enjoyed playing with him."
Horton's win comes on the heels of a 6-0, 6-0 win over Maryville's Matt Goodridge during individuals districts Monday.
"I feel amazed honestly," Horton said, reflecting on the season he's had thus far. "I didn't expect too much. I was just hoping to come out and have fun."
Now, Horton will look to become Savannah's first individual state champ in boys' tennis in school history.
"The main objective with Cole is, 'Do what you need to do and stay healthy,'" Hare said. "Now, he needs to ramp it up to a whole different level of competition with some of the best guys in the state. We have great expectations for him. We just hope he's mentally ready to go next weekend."
The Collier brothers got through their first set smoothly, 6-1, but had to rally for a 7-6 victory in the second - decided by a 7-4 tiebreaker round against Chillicothe's Carter Allen and Caleb Corbin.
"We tried not to lose our momentum we had from the first set," Matt said. "We gave up a couple of points, we were up 5-1, went down to a 6-6 tiebreaker...just tried to keep our heads in the game and push each other the best we can."
Savannah's other doubles entry, Peek and Hefty, got a strong challenge from Trenton's District 15 doubles champions Trent Villacampa and Brady Sager.
Peek and Hefty won 6-4, 6-2.
"I felt like we played well overall," Peek said. "We played really good together. Today was our best day that we've had and we needed it today."
Horton, the Colliers, along with Peek and Hefty, go on to the individual state championships on May 21-22 at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.
Before that, those five qualifiers will join the rest of their team for team sectional action against Trenton on the Plaza Tennis Courts in Kansas City on Monday.
While the current forecast is a concern, Hare is excited to see what his team can continue to do. Especially against the last team to have beaten Savannah in a head-to-head contest.
The Bulldogs took Savannah down in team districts, 5-0, in May 2019. The Savages haven't lost in a head-to-head match since.
"We got to see a glimpse of (Trenton) today," Hare said. "We saw them about two months ago. But, just...forget it. Focus on what's in front of you and just enjoy the ride. And if we can just stay relaxed and focused, these guys have good enough shots to make anything happen."
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