By Anvil Welch
awelch@joplinglobe.com
The pluses for the Joplin High School boys tennis team start with senior John Lazenby.
Lazenby won the Class 2 singles title last season during the MSHSAA Individual Championships at the Cooper Complex in Springfield. Lazenby, 31-4 overall, placed fifth as a sophomore.
The 2008 Eagles were 10-5 in duals. They finished second to Glendale in the Ozark Conference before reversing the finish in district play. They beat Jefferson City Helias in a team sectional before losing to eventual state champion Columbia Rock Bridge.
“We’ll be young,” Eagle coach Sean McWilliams said on Saturday. “We still have a lot of work to do.
“But we have a great group of kids,” McWilliams said. “They’ve been working hard since we’ve begun practice. These guys also worked very hard in the off-season.
“We’re anticipating success in district competition as well as the Ozark Conference,” McWilliams said. “We believe Glendale will be our No. 1 competition in the Ozark Conference. We believe Glendale and Central will provide strong competition in district.
“Definitely, the return of Lazenby (who beat Glendale’s Paul Nahon in the state singles final) is exciting,” McWilliams said. “He’s much improved compared to last season. John is healthy. He also continued to work hard in the off-season. He’s anxious to get out there and compete.”
McWilliams listed a singles ladder of Lazenby, freshman Derek Carter, junior Alec Belden (a transfer from College Heights), junior Cody Maples, senior Arshon Dehbozorgi and senior Peter Kleindl.
“We’re without four of our top six in singles last season,” McWilliams noted.
Completing a top 12 in singles, McWilliams said, are senior Andrew Childs, junior Colby Ritter, sophomore Zach Cox, junior Jacy McCullum, junior Stephan Triplett and senior Ho Chen.
The Eagles open their season by entertaining Branson at 4 p.m. on Thursday at the Joplin Tennis Complex.
Notes: McWilliams and assistants Rob Taylor and Joel McDuffey have been working with a squad of 26. Rounding out the roster: senior Joseph Wright; juniors Dhaval Patel, Collin VanOstran, Chase Fox, Clayton Stehm, Christian Young, Luke Barr, Ryan Howard; sophomores Gus Oberg, Geovanni Lara, Ethan Knapps; freshmen Zach Dorris, Preston Colasanton and Jared Fisher. ... The field for the Joplin Invitational on April 1 includes the Eagles, Thomas Jefferson, defending champion Jenks (Okla.), Central, Camdenton and North Kansas City.
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Defending state champ gives Joplin tennis team strong starting point
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