Dexter, MO - The Dexter High School honored their spring sports with their 2022 Awards Ceremony held on Thursday, May 12, 2022. Coach Eric Boles gave out the awards for Boys Tennis.
"To say that this year has been a tough one is an understatement," commented coach Eric Boles. "However, we did get the opportunity to have a tennis season and we could not have done it without the help and support of many different people."
The Courts for Cancer was a quite a success raising over $3,000 by having sponsorships, purchasing of t-shirts, and raffle tickets. They were able to send checks to six different people or groups ranging from $400 to $800 each.
Cooper Worley, a freshman, had to come in and play varsity right away according to Boles. "This is a very difficult task, especially when most of his opponents were juniors and seniors. He has a very bright future ahead of him. He and his doubles partner ended up medaling in the District Doubles Tournament."
Logan Jones is a first year varsity only player and the #4 spot for most of the year. He and his doubles partner medaled at the SEMO Conference Tournament. "He is our "Mister Consistency" on the courts. He was voted "Best Teammate" by his fellow teammates."
Lawson Blocker is the second of the two freshmen on the team and had to come in and play varsity right away. Not only did he have to play varsity as a freshman, he played in the top half of every match as the #3 spot. "He held his own and has shown great progress in his game over the course of the season. He and his doubles partner ended up medaling at the District Doubles Tournament."
Peyton Boles is a 2nd year varsity letterman and had a very tough year ahead of him. He played the #1 spot most of the year and constantly had to play individuals who had much more experience than his first year of tennis. "He never let the pressure get to him. He always remained calm and under control." His season highlights include a 3rd Place Medalist finish at the Poplar Bluff Tournament in singles bracket and qualified for the Sectional Tournament by taking home the Silver Medal at Districts. He was voted "Best Overall Player" by his teammates.
Drake Channell is a 2nd year varsity letterman and the only player with more than one year of tennis experience. He was the #2 player most of the season, but took over the #1 spot the last two weeks of the season. "It is a lot of pressure being the only senior on a very young team. After taking home the Bronze Medal at Districts, he is officially done with his high school tennis career and now will take on a much bigger challenge as he moves on to the college level in August."
Most Singles Wins Award: Two boys tied for this award. They have the exact same number of wins and they have the exact same win percentage. "They were the only boys with double digit wins, the only ones with a winning record and they both finished with a win percentage of 60%. This award goes to Drake Channell and Peyton Boles.
Most Doubles Wins Award: This award came down to the tie-breaker of win percentage and the team of Drake Channell/Peyton Boles have earned this award.
Bearcat Award Winner: This award was voted on by the team. "I had the boys complete a survey on our teammate awards (6 different categories), and the player that received the most overall votes was awarded the Bearcat Award." This years winner is Peyton Boles.
Pictured from left to right are Peyton Boles, Cooper Worley, Lawson Blocker, Ryder Williams, Drake Channell, and Clayton Whitaker.
