By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
SAVANNAH - The Savannah boys' tennis team swept their way through doubles and picked up wins in No. 1 and No. 4 singles to top Maryville 5-2 Wednesday in the Class 1 District 16 championship at Savannah High School.
A remarkable feat for the Savages, who have now claimed a district crown in each of the last four seasons. Beating Maryville in each of those attempts.
In fact, the Savages have topped Maryville in each of the last 13 meetings in boys' tennis.
"I think Maryville is one of the best teams in the state actually," Savannah coach Wakefield Hare said. "They're incredible. Credit to them. Because they've been better, I've questioned how good our boys are, and they are good. They're worthy to be champions, but they had to fight and earn it today against a great opponent."
Savannah was dominant to start in No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, with senior Evan Heftye and junior Noah Gould winning their match 8-2. Juniors Cole Horton and Cale Higer won theirs 8-1.
Juniors Connor Herbert and Brighton Kurre won a tiebreaker set in No. 3 doubles, 7-5, to give Savannah an early 3-0 advantage.
"I thought the team did very well today," Horton said. "Our doubles really pulled out. That really helped us."
Horton, a three-time singles district champion and two-time state qualifier, swept through his singles match, 6-0, 6-0. Maryville got wins in No. 2 and 3 singles, but Gould closed out the match, winning No. 4 singles 6-1, 6-3.
"We came out super strong," Gould said. "Everyone had a game face on today. Everyone felt super confident going in and I think that's what led us to the win today."
"They set that tone," Hare added. "It gets really demoralizing for an opponent to get down by three points before singles matches even start. It played out really well. Just thankful they were able to stay focused and get the win."
Savannah has had yet another successful season in 2023 in a string of remarkable campaigns.
Horton, along with Gould and Heftye, are competing in individual sectionals this Friday in Warrensburg.
The entire Savannah team will then face Warrensburg in team sectionals this coming Monday.
The Savages, as a team, have reached state quarterfinals in each of the last two seasons.
In the individual state tournament, Horton has reached state semis in singles each of the last two years. Heftye reached state quarters last season in doubles with Matt Collier.
With yet another opportunity to make some deep runs this year, Savannah is simply focused on the next match. The next point. The next challenge.
"As cliche as it might sound, it's about taking it one point at a time,"Hare said. "They've done enough work and they've put in enough effort in practice to know they can everything they ever want."
"The only way that's taken from them is if they don't put their best on the court. The only reason they wouldn't put their best on the court is if they get distracted. There's a thousand things that can distract a human being. The key is to stay focused and enjoy the ride."
"It's high school," Horton said. "It is all fun, but we do need to focus when we get down to it."
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