Notre Dame wins third-straight district title

A dominant team performance led the Notre Dame Bulldogs to a quick 5-0 win over the Farmington Knights to win the Class 2 District 1 Championship on Wednesday at Notre Dame Regional High School.

The afternoon started with the Bulldogs going 3-0 in the doubles portion of the match.

Charlie West and Matthew Austin won their match 8-4, Eli Youngblood and Thomas Southard won their match 8-2 and Owen Blattel and Blake Schreckenberg won their match 8-6.

“We just came out fired up,” Notre Dame senior Eli Youngblood said. “We wanted to get the first couple of games right off the bat. We moved our feet and we talked well.”

Youngblood is the lone senior on the Bulldogs’ roster and Ryan had high praise for his growth over the last four years.

“He’s a very quiet leader,” Ryan said. “The kids look to Eli for what he’s doing and he goes out there and plays hard all the time.”

Moving into singles, it took Youngblood winning his match, followed by West winning his to clinch the championship and end the match.

“It’s kind of hard to believe that I’m here,” Youngblood said. “Starting from freshman year to now. We’ve always had a good team. It was just the expectation of when we get here can we do it.”

The district title was Notre Dame’s third-straight title.

“These boys have worked really hard for this,” Bulldogs coach Donna Ryan said. “They have really earned this.”

Ryan said having home-court advantage is huge for her team, especially in the postseason.

“They feel much more comfortable here,” Ryan said. “We don’t have to ride in cars to get somewhere and they have a home crowd. It’s a big factor for us.”

With the win, the Bulldogs will host the state quarterfinal matchup against the winner of district four which will be either Missouri Military Academy or Hannibal.

“It’s a nice thing to know that we will get to have it here,” Ryan said.

The last two district titles for the Bulldogs resulted in losses in the next round and Ryan hopes to see her team right the ship this season.

“I hope to see them play like they did today,” Ryan said. “Maybe step it up just a little bit, but I thought most of them played well. I hope to see them have the confidence going into that match playing well and knowing what they’re playing for.”

The state quarterfinal match will be on Monday, May 15 at Notre Dame Regional High School. As of now, the opponent and time is still to be determined.