Dexter Boys Tennis Team Returns Several Starters

Sports

March 24th 2016 by Dee Loflin

Dexter, Missouri - The Dexter Bearcats boys tennis team begin their season at home on Thursday, March 24th against the Poplar Bluff Mules.

They return all but two starters off of their 2015 historic season, finishing 11-1 and advanced to the Class 1 State Quarterfinals.

"Our only graduates off of last year's squad were Brooks Propst and Noah Kronk," said Coach Kurt Lovelady. "So we have six lettermen returning from last year that saw some varsity action. We have got a good, strong team coming back that has been playing a lot over the winter. Some have even been going over to Paducah, playing this winter so they don't have much rust to shake off."

Returning varsity starters are high school seniors Ethan Flowers, Josh Kohlbaker, and Addison Moore along with junior Zach Potts.

"We just finished our varsity boxes last week," continued Lovelady. "We have four seniors a couple of juniors in starting slots right now, but things could change.

Lovelady expects to fill the other varsity slots with seniors Tyler Stevenson and Jacob Crumley, junior Will Brehmer, or sophomore Matthew Chesser.

"I see the bottom part of our varsity being very competitive," stated Lovelady. "All eight of those guys had very good records last year and it should be very competitive to see who earns those bottom varsity spots."

Dexter will open at home on Thursday, March 24th at 4:00 p.m. against Poplar Bluff.

"Poplar Bluff is a lot like us," Lovelady said. "They have a lot of returning players and boys that go to camps in the summer. They also put in a lot of time."

Dexter will have five home matches against Poplar Bluff, Notre Dame, Cape Central, Sikeston, and end with Poplar Bluff again in May. They also have five away matches against Cape Central, Notre Dame, Poplar Bluff, and Sikeston twice. They even host the Poplar Bluff Invitational on April 2nd.

"It's about the same schedule as last season," stated Lovelady. " Poplar Bluff is undergoing new school construction so we will be lucky enough to host the Poplar Bluff Invitational in Dexter."

Dexter will compete in the Class 1, District 1 with Notre Dame, Cape Central, Potosi, Arcadia Valley, DeSoto, and North County at the end of the season. Dexter beat Notre Dame 5-0 in Districts last year, but lost to John Burroughs in the State Quarterfinal.

Ethan Flowers,a senior, finished 8th in the state in individual doubles with teammate Noah Kronk last season. He ended with a 17-6 record.

"He's worked a lot," Lovelady said. "He has gone to Springfield and worked with some pros. He's well on his way and has some rust to shake off after basketball season, but he will progress quickly and be tough to beat this year."