Claire Bean, Handley McAtee named Girls Tennis Athletes of the Year at 2023 Semoball Awards

Kennett with Holcomb girls tennis team doubles duo Claire Bean and Handley McAtee made waves this year in winning both the MSHSAA Class 1 Team State Championship and the individual Class 1 State Doubles Championship.

On Friday, July 14, the two were named the Girls Tennis Athletes of the Year at the 2023 Semoball Awards presented by SoutheastHEALTH at LaCroix Church in Cape Girardeau.

“It’s a blessing to have such a great partner, coaches and teammates, and also our families who always push us and support us,” McAtee said. “I’m just so thankful that all of our hard work has paid off for this moment.”

Kennett with Holcomb doubles partners Handley McAtee (right) and Claire Bean (left) celebrate with the Class 1 Girls Tennis Championship trophy after defeating Clayton for the team's second consecutive title last fall.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

Claire Bean, a freshman at Holcomb High School in her first year on the Kennett with Holcomb co-op team, made an immediate impact and earned herself the number one spot on the team’s ladder. Bean concluded the season with a 14-1 record in singles and 33-1 in doubles play.

“I was really nervous at first,” Bean described of joining the team. “Now, I’m just so excited. It’s been great. We worked really hard together, and we worked really hard to get to this moment. I’m just so grateful.”

McAtee, a sophomore at Kennett High School, finished her second season with an unbeaten 16-0 record in singles play and went 33-1 in doubles play alongside Bean.

Coming from different schools – albeit, two schools separated by fewer than 15 miles – the two didn’t know what to expect upon being paired together. However, it didn’t take long to realize that things were going to work out just fine.

“We didn’t really know of each other like we obviously do now,” McAtee said. “But we work really well together, and the pairing worked out in our favor.”

Kennett�s Handley McAtee competes in a match this season against Notre Dame at Kennett High School. Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

Neither Bean or McAtee gave up a single set until the postseason, and their only doubles loss came to North County in the Class 1 Team Sectionals round. They led the way for the team to win their second state championship in a row and secure another undefeated 21-0 season.

In the team state finals, Bean and McAtee had a difficult task at hand in facing Clayton’s No. 1 duo. They took an early lead, but later tied at 5-5 before regrouping and regaining control to shut out the remainder of the match. They finished with an 8-5 win for Kennett/Holcomb’s second win of the day.

“We just knew that if we worked hard like we always do, then we will be prepared to go out and beat whoever our opponent is,” McAtee said. “We always work well together, and I think that’s been a really important factor. We get along on and off the court.”

The two also won their championship singles matches, and a final victory by teammate Christi Tejeda propelled the team to their second-consecutive state title.

As a partnership, the two have a high ceiling with at least two more seasons together ahead to continue the program’s extensive history of success. Since 2010, there has only been one season in which the team has not won at least a district championship.

Holcomb�s Claire Bean returns the ball in a match against Chillicothe on the first day of state tournament competition in Springfield.Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

The pair will surely be at the top of Kennett’s roster once again this fall, and they will have to “step it up,” in the words of McAtee, after graduating four seniors and a hearty group of underclassmen rising up the ranks.

“We work hard and we just need to get back to where we were,” Bean said. “We’ve lost the seniors, so we’ll have to keep going and work hard because they were a really good group.”