With the Lancer boys’ 7-2 victory against North County on March 22, Kainz won his 100th match as coach of both teams.
“So that’s pretty cool,” said Kainz.
Tennis at St. Pius has been on the upswing since last spring when the boys beat Festus on a tiebreaker to capture the Jefferson County Activities Association championship. The girls had a record of 14-0 before they lost in the Class 1 sectionals last fall. So far this season, the boys are 6-0 and have won three of those matches 9-0.
Seniors Luke Klahs (No. 1 singles), Robert Vance (No. 2 singles) and Sam Tucker (No. 6 singles) have all been on the varsity since they were sophomores. They’ve helped the Lancers rise to the top of the league.
“I think the boys have a lot of mental toughness,” Kainz said. “There were no players from the class above them, so they’ve been carrying the team for a couple of years now. They know how to stay calm under pressure, are ready to play long, tough matches, and can think for themselves out on the court.”
Klahs lost to Michael Esparza of Festus in three sets in the No. 1 singles conference final last season. Klahs won the District 2 title at No. 1 singles and reached sectionals, where he lost in two sets to Sikeston’s Warren Chinwuko.
“Luke is very good at switching from defense to offense,” Kainz said. “He can rally for a long time, stay in the point, and then be very aggressive at the net.”
Klahs beat Vance in the district championship match at No. 1 singles, and Vance advanced to sectionals where he fell in two sets to Brett Johnson of Sikeston. Vance is the defending conference champion at No. 2 singles.
“Robert gets a lot of topspin on his shots, which can be difficult for opponents to handle,” Kainz said. “He can run down almost any shot and stay alive in the point.”
Senior Thomas Koch paired with Tucker last season to finish fourth in the league in No. 1 doubles. Koch is slotted at No. 3 singles and joins with Klahs on the top doubles pairing this season.
“Thomas loves to attack and get to the net,” Kainz said. “He’s developed his forehand into a real weapon.”
Sophomores Blake Dobey (No. 4 singles) and Paul Borrego (No. 5 singles) are the reigning No. 2 doubles champions in the league. Dobey goes for power shots with the right opportunity, is good at the net and has great hand-eye coordination. Borrego is unassuming on the court but hits with maximum power.
Vance and Dobey (No. 2), Borrego and junior Gabe Verzola (No. 3), Adam Sale and Ben Menendez (No. 4), Noah Campbell and Calvin Thomas (No. 5) and Keagon Klahs and Patrick Klaus (No. 6) are the doubles pairings.
“Nearly all of our players take lessons outside of the season, even some of the JV players,” Kainz said. “There’s a lot of competition within the team so they know that if they take a year off between seasons, they’re going to get passed up by their own teammates.”
This year’s Class 1 District 2 boys tennis tournament is at Windsor. Crystal City, De Soto, Festus, Potosi, St. Pius X and the Owls will compete for the title.
Owls try to keep pace with Lancers on court
The Lancers beat Windsor 5-3 in the District 2 championship last season. Historically, the Owls have been a contender for conference and district titles.
Head coach Doc Carranza said despite Windsor’s 9-0 loss to St. Pius in the first match of the season on March 20, his Owls are capable of making a run at the Lancers. The two teams met again on Tuesday, after the Leader deadline.
“I think we can (win the league and district crowns). Those are our goals every year,” Carranza said. “We have a pretty good group. We’ve been trying to get them to change their games and play a little more tennis.”
Senior Alex Barton has been promoted from No. 2 to No. 1 singles this season. Barton has a varsity record (in singles and doubles matches) of 83-21. He could break the all-time wins record at Windsor held by Jason Thibodeaux, who was 88-24 over his career. Barton and Parker Schaefer, the Owls’ No. 1 singles player last year, won the No. 1 doubles title at the league tournament in 2018.
“Alex has a really good serve and his ground strokes are pretty consistent,” Carranza said. “He knows the game and he’s a fun player to watch.”
At No. 2 singles is senior Brandon Ruegge, who’s been on the varsity for four years. Ruegge teamed with senior Alex Kovach to finish third in the league at No. 2 doubles last year.
“He’s gotten better every year,” Carranza said of Ruegge. “When he’s focused, he can really get after it and play. If you think you’ve got a ball by him, you don’t. He’s very quick.”
Kovach is at No. 3 singles, and the rest of the singles slots are filled by junior Michael Huff (No. 4), senior Brandon Bowen (No. 5) and juniors Eddie Lorentz or Mark Grogan (No. 6).
Barton and Ruegge team up at No. 1 doubles, with Kovach and Huff (No. 2) and Bowen and Grogan (No. 3) behind them.
“I’ve been trying to get our doubles teams to move up and back and get volleying points,” Carranza said. “Every player is so worried about the lob. If you’re both standing at the net, of course they’re going to lob you.”
Since the loss to the Lancers, the Owls beat Cape Girardeau Central 5-4 and De Soto 9-0.
Festus deep from top to bottom
Senior Michael Esparza lost the first match of the league’s No. 1 singles final to Luke Klahs last year, but came back to win the next two sets 6-3, 7-6.
It was the third season in a row Festus produced the top singles champion after Michael Hawkins won in 2017 and Christina Carrig captured the title in 2016. Esparza lost just one conference singles match last season.
“Michael has the best power game in the county. He’s a big hitter,” said Angela Tinnin, who coaches the Tigers with Thomas Thomas. “He’s an excellent role model and leader on our team. We expect big things from him this year.”
Senior Erica Fletcher is the No. 2 singles player and will team with Esparza on the top doubles combo. Tinnin said Fletcher is a tough competitor. Fletcher is on scholarship to play softball at JeffersonCollege next fall.
“Her game can only be appreciated by actually seeing her play,” Tinnin said. “She’s quick and unpredictable.”
Junior Julia Meyers (No. 3), sophomore Ryan Esparza (No. 4) and seniors Bradley Berrey (No. 5), Carter Bowman (No. 6) and Broxtyn Johnson (No. 7) round out the varsity. Meyers and Ryan Esparza form the No. 2 doubles team and Bowman and Johnson are No. 3.
Meyers has deep ground strokes that help her outlast opponents. Ryan Esparza is fast and working to develop his power and consistency. Berrey is a hard-hitting, aggressive player who is not afraid to attack the net. Bowman is extremely competitive and works hard to uphold his rank on the team. Johnson has improved his strokes the last few years.
Tinnin said she encourages the Tigers to take lessons outside of tennis season at school.
“It makes a huge difference in their strokes, and allows them to concentrate on the fundamentals of the game,” Tinnin said.
Festus beat Crystal City 5-4 on April 3 and improved to 1-2.
Hornets have strong base
Junior Nate Denby has emerged as Crystal City’s No. 1 player, supplanting his brother, Alex, who played in the top spot at the conference tournament a year ago.
Denby finished second with teammate Thomas Wofford (a 2018 graduate) in the league’s No. 1 doubles competition a year ago. Denby will be paired with Carson Short as the Hornets’ top doubles team this year.
“Nate has a consistent serve and never-give-up attitude,” head coach Mike Osher said. “(Denby and Short) fit well with each other and I’m looking for them to be the playmakers this year.”
Short is also the No. 2 singles player. He has a good backhand return. Alex Denby is No. 3 singles and has a good return for most shots. Kody Hoang is the No. 4 and gets to the ball quickly. Kyle Watters at No. 5 and Osher said works hard every day in practice. And Jillian Schubert (No. 6), Osher said, is determined to make each point count. Alex Denby and Hoang are the No. 2 doubles team.
Osher said the Hornets have 20 players in the program and a strong group of underclassmen.
“I had a couple of players take lessons over the summer,” Osher said. “I encourage them to take lessons. When players are constantly working on their game and getting better, it’s a win for them as individuals and for our school.”
Crystal City beat De Soto 7-2 at home on Monday. The Hornets, who are 3-4 this season, won all six of the singles matches.
Dragons turn over new leaf
Sydney Berry took third place in the No. 1 singles conference competition in 2018 and Madison Spiker was fourth in No. 2 singles. But Berry and Spiker graduated, leaving head coach Rich Charboneau to cultivate a new crop of girls for the boys team.
The past few seasons, De Soto has had mostly girls play on the boys team and Berry and Spiker competed well.
Katie Chandler has earned the top singles position. Chandler takes good ground strokes and teams up with Kiley Roth (No. 2 singles) on the top doubles unit. Roth has a good serve.
Luke Sargent has a good backhand shot and is the No. 3 singles and pairs with Alexus Degonia (No. 4 singles) on the No. 2 doubles team. Degonia takes good ground strokes. Shyann Poucher is at No. 5 singles and Kiley Piatchek (No. 6) is improving basic ground strokes.
De Soto is 0-6 this season and has lost all but one of its matches 9-0.
Charboneau has been coaching the Dragons for 16 years. He said none of his players this year have taken lessons outside of school.
“I encourage it because there are people who can give a different perspective than mine,” he said.