Lady Mules advance in districts

The Poplar Bluff Lady Mules tennis team had an impressive showing in the Class 2, District 1 individual tournament and hoped to carry over the same play as a unit on Monday against the Sikeston Lady Bulldogs.

The Lady Mules got their first taste of postseason success with junior Kaitlyn Booker winning the Class 2, District 1 girls singles championship for the second-straight year, while Ava Richardson and Hannah Kee finished third in the doubles tournament.

The squad was able to keep the momentum going as they defeated Sikeston 5-0 in the Class 2 District 1 quarterfinals on Monday.

After bringing home some hardware from their last matchup, head tennis coach Michelle Massey said getting those wins gave them a lot of confidence and hopefully will continue going forward to the state tournament.

“Tonight was a great match for our girls to start out district play,” Massey said. “Our girls played strong in doubles and started the night off with big doubles wins.”

Junior Molly Maurer connects with a backhand during the Class 2 District 1 quarterfinals on Monday against the Sikeston Lady Bulldogs.DAR/D'COURTLAND CHRISTIAN

Booker and Maurer won their doubles matchup 8-1, and Richardson and Kee won 8-0, while Hannah Wiseman and Katelyn Conover won 8-2. The Lady Mules would continue their dominance in the singles match by getting another clean sweep over the Lady Bulldogs.

Massey said she was very impressed with the team’s performance and noted that Maurer had a strong serve game with several aces.

The Lady Mules entered the district tournament as the third seed and will play against St. Pius/Festus tomorrow in Festus, who is the second seed in the district.

“I think tomorrow’s match should be a close match,” Massey said. “We watched them play at individual districts, where Booker defeated their number one and six in singles last week, and I believe she’s ready to do it again.”