Bearcat tennis wins sectionals; fall in state quarterfinals to Clayton

The Dexter Bearcats traveled north to St. Louis to participate in the Sectional and Quarterfinal rounds of the MSHSAA Boys Tennis State Tournament.

The Bearcats faced Univeristy High School in the Sectional Round.

The Bearcats got off to a very solid start by winning 2 of the 3 doubles matches.

Dexter’s Peyton Boles and Lawson Blocker defeated Sasha Albright and Elijah Minor 8-2.

Cooper Worley and Drew Chamberlain lost to Braeden Klohr and Benjamin Scharff 8-4.

Logan Jones and Rhyder Williams defeated Declan O’Leary and Andrew Holahan 8-2 to give Dexter a 2-1 lead after the doubles matches

In Singles, the Bearcats had to win 3 matches before University City won 4 matches to get to the magic number of 5 to advance.

Dexter’s Peyton Boles defeated Albright 6-2, 6-2, Drew Chamberlain defeated Scharff 6-2, 6-0 and Rhyder Williams defeated Holahan 6-0, 6-0 to secure the win for Dexter.

The remaining matches were stopped because Dexter reached the magic number of 5 wins (to assure that no players are injured playing an unnecessary match before the next round. The Bearcats got the 5-1 win over Univeristy City and moved onto a Quartfinals match-up with powerhouse Clayton.

The Bearcats matched the farthest run a Dexter boys tennis team has ever had in the state tournament by getting to the quarter-finals. However, they came up against last year’s 3rd Place finisher and 2023 favorite to win the state championship, Clayton High School. The Bearcats fell 5-0.

In doubles matches Dexter’s Peyton Boles and Lawson Blocker lost to Ismael Robles-Razzaq/Arnav Poddar 8-1.

Cooper Worley and Drew Chamberlain fell to Anurag Venigalla and Spencer Pompian 8-0.

Logan Jones and Rhyder Williams lost to Tyler He and Addison Kline 8-1.

In Singles, three matches were finished before the match was called (Clayton reached 5 wins).

In singles Lawson Blocker lost to Poddard 6-1, 6-0, Drew Chamberlain lost to Daden Deaver 6-0, 6-0 and Logan Jones lost to Joe Major 6-0, 6-0.

“I have to say that this group of boys far exceeded our expectations both on the court and off the court,” said Dexter coach Eric Boles. “I could not be prouder as a coach and a father. They played every match with honor, great sportsmanship, and grit. They should be very proud of what they have accomplished.”