Boys’ tennis are down in Springfield for a long stay again.  The boys’ team made the final four, and a Clayton singles player and doubles team qualified in the individual tournament—for the second straight year.

After placing third in the team tournament last season, and losing only two players to graduation, the team had aspirations for first place this year.  After beating Warrensburg 5-0 to earn a place in the finals, the Hounds lost to Pembroke Hill 5-1 in a match far closer than the score indicated.  Joey Dulle pulled out a win for the Hounds, and Mac Rechan and Jake Lee both lost in three set matches which came down to the wire.  The team was confident that had the match reached doubles competition, they would have won.  That would have required three wins in the singles competition.

“I think it is incredibly disappointing that we lost to Pembroke,” head coach Susie Luten said. “If we as a team had a few things go differently, this would be a different story.”

Dulle agreed, but looked forward to the individual matches on Saturday, where he has the chance to defend his state championship in doubles.

“Its unfortunate that we lost in the team final but we are looking to the semi finals,” Dulle said. “My priority was set on the team part, my efforts were 100 percent set on winning that, but now that we can’t, I am going to try to represent the school by bringing another state title back to Clayton.”

Both Rechan and the doubles pair of Lee and Dulle qualified for the semifinals on Saturday, guaranteeing all three players a medal.

“I couldn’t be happier with how todays match went,” Luten said.

Past opponents could be blocking Rechan, Lee and Dulle from their quest for state titles.  If Rechan wins his first match, he could see Pembroke’s Will Welte in the state final, whereas Lee and Dulle could see John Burrough’s Michael Peters and Matt Wong.

Rechan lost to Welte in the team competition on Thursday, and Lee and Dulle lost to the Burrough’s pair in the District finals.  At the very least, Saturday should make for some exciting matches, and the entire Hounds team will be there to support the top three CHS tennis players.

“I think it’s really lucky that we have the support of the whole team and team bonding is great,” Luten said. “The whole team has been here this weekend and it’s worth mentioning that two of last year’s guys, Simon Warchol and Sagar Yadama, also came down.”