Boys Tennis

Nevada High School senior Evan Rea has been preparing for the spring tennis season — and another trip to the state tournament — by playing in the UTSA Western Arkansas Baller Junior Championships this past weekend in Fort Smith. In the boys’ 18-and-under singles division, Rea lost to hometown kid Keven Praphan 6-0, 602 in the opening round. Praphan proceeded to win the whole thing without dropping more than two games to any opponent...

This year has been one of firsts for Evan Rea. In the spring, the Nevada High School junior made his maiden voyage to the state tennis tournament. This summer, in preparation for his senior year, Rea played in his first-ever Show-Me State Games. Although a bit of bad luck in seeding prevented him from vying for a MSHSAA medal a few months back, Rea succeeded in winning gold in the 18-and-under boys singles division this past weekend in Columbia...

SPRINGFIELD — If Nevada High School junior Evan Rea had any expectations going into his first trip to the state singles tennis tournament on Friday, they were violated almost immediately — and only compounded from there. First, it rained. That meant, instead of playing outside on any of the seemingly countless pristine courts of the Cooper Tennis Complex, the MSHSAA Class 1 tournament was moved indoors, where Rea had never played a match before...

If Evan Rea is to wear the crown in Class 1 singles tennis, he’ll first have to defeat a King. Coming off MSHSAA Class 1 District 12 and Sectional 6 championships — both of which he won in straight sets — the Nevada High School junior is slated to face Barstow junior Richard King to open the Class 1 state tennis championship at 2 p.m. Friday in Springfield...

An earlier start time to the Class 1 Sectional 6 boys individual tennis tournament Friday in Mt. Vernon had no effect on Nevada High School junior Evan Rea — unless you count the one game he lost in his second set. Other than that, the star singles player breezed by Mt. Vernon's Chase Strong in straight sets, 6-0 and 6-1, to advance to the Class 1 state tournament next week in Springfield...

Although its top player isn’t done yet, the Nevada High School boys tennis team’s season came to an end in the Class 1 District 12 tournament Monday at Harrisonville. The Tigers picked up a pair of wins — one in singles, one in doubles — but the Wildcats won the necessary five matches to advance to the next round to face Bolivar...

BOLIVAR — Evan Rea’s Friday started with a cut on his finger. It ended with a medal in his hands. In between, the Nevada High School junior and no. 1 seed at the Class 1 District 12 individual tennis tournament endured several questionable line calls and even a necessary change of shoes, but ultimately cruised past Bolivar’s Seth Martin on his home court and Harrisonville’s Nathan Barnett and Aden Dutter — the former on the campus of Southwest Baptist University, the latter back at Bolivar Middle School, but all in straight sets — to claim his first district singles championship, and the first for a Tigers netter in well over a decade.. ...

They may not have beaten the same two Springfield Catholic players who defeated them earlier this season, but Nevada High School no. 1 doubles partners Andrew La Near and Evan Rea were still able to avenge one of their only losses of the year Wednesday at the Big 8 Conference tennis tournament in Springfield — and brought home first-place medals for it, too...

If the Nevada High School boys tennis team was lacking any confidence heading into its conference and district tournaments later this week, Monday’s home dual against Clinton may have provided the boost the Tigers needed. Nevada picked up its second team win of the season with a 9-0 sweep over the Cardinals, ending its regular season on a high note before heading to the Big 8 Conference tournament Wednesday in Springfield...

Nevada High School's Evan Rea came back from an 0-4 deficit to win seven straight games and beat Jacob Zimmerman 8-5 in no. 1 singles Friday at a dual hosted by Logan-Rogersville. Rea improved to 11-1 on the season and, along with Andrew La Near, also picked up win no. 7 in no. 1 doubles with an 8-4 come-from-behind victory over Zimmerman and Lucas Wilhoit...

Nevada High School freshman Trey Streeter picked up his first varsity singles win, and junior Evan Rea earned his 10th of the season, when the Tigers tennis team traveled to Mt. Vernon on Tuesday. Rea cruised past Mt. Vernon senior Chase Strong in no. 1 singles, 8-0, to improve his season record to 10-1...

The Nevada High School boys tennis team kicked off its busy week Monday afternoon at Carthage, with the crimson and gray bringing home two wins. Nevada junior No. 1 singles player Evan Rea defeated Carthage senior Silas Smith, 8-1, and was also part of the No. 1 doubles team — along with playing partner Andrew La Near — that beat Smith and Ryan Phillips, 8-4...

While most members of the Nevada High School boys tennis team will be spending their weekend resting sore muscles, Evan Rea will be celebrating another victory. The talented junior improved his no. 1 singles record to 8-1 and his no. 1 doubles record (along with playing partner Andrew La Near) to 4-2 after another dominating performance Thursday at Monett — the only wins for the Tigers on the afternoon...

The Nevada High School boys tennis team got its first look at a district opponent Thursday afternoon at Bolivar, and head coach Clayton Wheeler liked what he saw — at least in No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles. “Their wins tonight will be handy come seeding time,” state Wheeler, who saw junior Evan Rea improve his record to 7-1 in No. ...

The scores may not show it, but the Nevada High School boys tennis team was in nearly every match of its dual at Smith-Cotton Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately for every Tiger but junior no. 1 singles player Evan Rea, they just seemed to end up on the wrong side of every deuce...

The last time the Nevada High School boys tennis team faced perennial power Springfield Catholic, in the 2019 Big 8 Conference tournament, Evan Rea, a freshman in No. 5 singles at the time, was the only Tiger who won a match. Tuesday at the NHS courts, in a regular season dual against the Fightin' Irish, Rea, now a junior and the team's No. 1 singles player, had as little luck as the next guy...

Sometimes improvement comes after a year. Sometimes it comes overnight. So far this spring, for the Nevada High School boys tennis team, it’s been a little of both. Junior Evan Rea was the Big 8 Conference champion at No. 5 singles two years ago, and only got better after his sophomore campaign (like those of most every other spring athlete in Missouri) was lost to the COVID-19 pandemic...

Thursday's match against Reeds Spring marked the first varsity dual for all but one player on the Nevada High School boys tennis team — and it showed. Junior Evan Rea, who was the Big 8 conference champion at No. 5 singles his freshman year, lit up the court in No. 1 singles with an 8-0 win over Connery Spain, and along with partner Andrew La Near beat Spain and Jaden Mcguirk 8-2 in No. 1 doubles...

The Nevada High School boys tennis team placed second in its season-opening meet at Fort Scott Tuesday. Junior Evan Rea led the way, going 3-0 in No. 1 singles to win first. Pittsburg took first, with Fort Scott and Columbus tying for third.

The area high school spring sports season had to hit the snooze button on starting for at least another day, as more rain on Thursday forced multiple postponements of the day's slate of events. The Stockton Invitational, at which the Bronaugh and Sheldon track and field teams were scheduled to compete, was postponed until March 30 due to inclement weather...

The start of the spring sports season for some area high schools will have to wait at least one more day. The Sheldon High School baseball team was set to throw out the first pitch of its new season at home against Dadeville Tuesday afternoon, but the game was briefly penciled in to be played at Dadeville before inclement weather there forced it to be postponed altogether. A make-up date may be scheduled at a later time...

The Nevada Tigers tennis team saw its season come to an end Thursday, in the Class 1, District 2 individuals tournament at Warrensburg. Skyler Laning received the fourth seed -- and a first-round bye -- in the No. 1 singles bracket, but suffered a 6-1, 6-0 loss to top-seeded Nick Piontek, of Warrensburg, in the semifinals. Laning bounced back with an 8-4 win over Harrisonville's Nathan Morse in the third-place match to earn the Tigers' only medal of the tournament...

WARRENSBURG. Mo. -- The Nevada Tigers tennis team opened the Class 1, District 12 team tournament at the Warrensburg Community Center Tuesday, and came home with mixed results. The Tigers entered the tournament as the fifth seed, behind undefeated Warrensburg, Knob Noster, Harrisonville and Clinton. That put head coach Clayton Wheeler's squad in a first-round match against Clinton, with a trip to the semifinals on the line...

Thanks to a day that was characterized by widespread rainfall and the threat of severe weather, several sporting events involving teams from Nevada High School were called off Monday. First on the list was the Class 3, Sectional 4 golf tournament, which was scheduled to be played at the Paradise Pointe Golf Complex, in Smithville, Mo. ...

With the threat of widespread rain across the area, the Nevada R-5 School District was forced to make some changes to its athletic schedules Thursday. The first of those changes was at Nevada High School. The Tigers tennis team was scheduled to host Clinton, but that match was called off due to wet conditions on the courts at Nevada High School and the threat of more rain...

BOLIVAR -- The Nevada Tigers tennis team competed in the Bolivar Tournament Wednesday, and brought home a number of strong performances. Nevada's No. 6 singles player, Myles Coffer, posted a second-place finish and Tigers Skyler Laning, Anthony Do, Luat Vu, Gabriel Garcia, Nathan McCall and Austin Jenkins finished third. Nevada's three doubles teams -- Laning and Do, Garcia and Coffer, and McCall and Jenkins -- also posted third-place finishes...

Thanks to the latest round of wet weather to move through the area, a number of local high school sporting events were called off Tuesday. Of the three area schools affected by the latest round of rain, Nevada High School was hit the hardest. According to athletic director John McNeley, three different Nevada High School sporting events were called off on the day...

Hoping to rebound from a shutout loss to Thomas Jefferson on Tuesday and an 8-1 loss at Carthage Thursday, the Nevada Tigers tennis team made its return to the home courts against Fort Scott Friday. By the time all was said and done, head coach Clay Wheeler's squad did just that, defeating Fort Scott, 5-4...

HARRISONVILLE, Mo. -- The Nevada Tigers tennis team upset Harrisonville, 5-4, Monday, in the team portion of the Class 1, District 12 tournament. The Tigers entered the tournament with a record of 3-8. earning them the fifth seed out of five teams. That made head coach Clay Wheeler's squad an underdog in every match, right from the start, but that fact didn't seem to matter in the tournament opener as Colton Short,. ...

Warrensburg has been seeded first for the Class 3, District tennis tournament, which is set to be played next week. Clinton is the second seed with Knob Noster third, Harrisonville fourth and Nevada fifth. The tournament opens Monday afternoon with a 4:30 p.m. dual between Nevada and Harrisonville, at Harrisonville...

FORT SCOTT -- The Nevada Tigers tennis team played what head coach Clay Wheeler called "a great day of tennis," on its way to a second-place finish in the Fort Scott Invitational Monday. The Tigers competed against three other teams, all from Kansas; Fort Scott, Pittsburg, and Coffeyville. All six varsity players earned second-place medals...

By Eric Wade Daily Mail Sports Editor Nevada and the surrounding areas have taken yet another hit from the weather. A number of events were scheduled to take place Thursday involving Nevada High School, Cottey College, Hume High School and Northeast Vernon County High School teams, but none of those events ended up happening, thanks to heavy rains that moved through the area Wednesday night...

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School defeated the Nevada Tigers tennis team by a final score of 9-0, Monday afternoon. Monday's match was originally scheduled for April 2, but was rescheduled due to weather. Once the two squads were finally able to meet on Monday, the closest the Tigers came to winning a match was in the No. 2 singles match, when Sam McCoy suffered an 8-6 setback to Preston Carpenter...

FORT SCOTT -- The Nevada Tigers tennis team took to the road Friday afternoon and came home with positive results, defeating the Tigers of Fort Scott High School, 6-3. The match came on the heels of a cancellation on Monday that left Tigers head coach Clay Wheeler frustrated due to the circumstances that led to that cancellations and a rainout of a scheduled contest at Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School on Tuesday. ...

As is expected every spring, Mother Nature has made life very difficult for Nevada High School officials when it comes to making sure all scheduled spring sports games can be played. The latest sport to join the list of those impacted directly by weather is tennis. Head coach Clay Wheeler's squad was scheduled to take on Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School, Tuesday, in Joplin, but that match was rained out...

By Eric Wade Nevada Daily Mail The Nevada Tigers tennis team will have to wait a little bit longer to play on the home courts. The Tigers and head coach Clay Wheeler were scheduled to get their first shot at playing in front of their home fans Monday afternoon, but the match was called off. According to Wheeler, Joplin head coach Sean McWilliams said the match was "canceled months ago," but no one on the Tigers staff knew it...

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. -- Carl Junction defeated Nevada, 6-3, in a high school tennis dual Thursday at Carl Junction High School. The only win of the day in singles competition for the Tigers came when Andrei Ziabchenko won the No. 2 match, 9-8 (7-3), over Jensen Smith. Ziabchenko then teamed up with Skyler Crews to win the No. 2 doubles match, 9-7, and Skyler Laning and Anthony Do posted a dominant win at No. 3 doubles, 8-1...

Nevada Daily Mail FORT SCOTT -- The Nevada High School boys' tennis team was scheduled to get its tournament season under way Tuesday afternoon in the Fort Scott Invitational tournament, but due to the lingering effects of the winter weather that moved through the area over the weekend, that tournament has been postponed...

FORT SCOTT -- Tennis season approaches quickly. In fact, Fort Scott High School's season begins Tuesday when the Tigers travel to Independence for a season-opening tournament. Fort Scott head coach Lynn Barr has 17 players out and has been able to get more practice time outdoors this season than in the past few years...

The Tigers won their season opener over Carl Junction with a score of 8-1 overall. In singles competition, Dominic Habjan defeated Carl Junction's Jory Mertens 8-0, Jordan McCall won 8-3 over Zach Waranch, Colton Hardy lost 8-5 to Andrew Wheeler, Josh Lowry won 8-1 over Garrett Easson, Doug Decoq won 8-2 over Stijn Dobbelaere 8-2, and Andrew Arneson defeated Troy Lawson 8-2. ...

1) Taylor Chapman/Dominic Habjan (Nev) 2 Curtis Westbay/Cole Beckham (Car) 8 2) James Smith/Ethan Holmes (Nev) 8 Allen Yarbrough/Tim Dannels (Car) 6 3) Chris Claypool/Will Andrews-Weiss (Nev) 8 Reggie Lashley/Justus Stevenson (Car) 3 Singles 1) Chapman (Nev) 8...

By Chris Patch Nevada Daily Mail Nevada tennis brushed off a tough weekend and won its second match of the season 6-3 over Carthage Tuesday afternoon at Nevada High School. The Tigers got off on the right foot in singles, winning 4-3 to put themselves in the driver's seat for doubles, which was played second on Tuesday. Dominic Habjan set the tone with an 8-2 blowout win over Carthage's Tim Dannels in No. 4 singles...

Nevada Daily Mail The Nevada Tiger tennis team ended its season with a fifth-place finish in the district tournament in Joplin Saturday. Nevada finished one point behind Mount Vernon for fourth. The top four teams advance to the regional tournament...

Nevada Daily Mail In a continuation of the Southwest Conference tennis tournament that began May 1, the Webb City Cardinals held their lead and claimed the team title on their home courts Wednesday. Nevada finished third in the team event, but did win the No. 1 doubles title as Ryan Kimbrough and Jake Holmes teamed to beat teams from Webb City and Neosho for the crown...

Nevada Daily Mail Nevada senior Ryan Kimbrough proved to be the top tennis player in the Southwest Conference by winning at No. 1 singles during the conference tournament Tuesday in Joplin. Kimbrough won the No. 1 singles bracket, the only Tiger player to take first...

Nevada Daily Mail NEVADA, Mo. -- The Nevada Tigers took one match and were close in a number of others against a very good Joplin tennis team Monday. Joplin still won 8-1. Taylor Chapman beat Cody Maples at No. 4 singles, 9-7, for Nevada's only victory of the day...

Nevada Daily Mail The Nevada Tiger tennis team tied for fourth at the Thomas Jefferson tournament Friday, then lost to Webb City in a dual Monday, 6-3. The Tigers had six points in the tournament Friday, tying with Fort Scott for fourth. Joplin won the event with 23 points, while the hosts took second with 22. Springfield Catholic placed third with 9.5 points...

Herald-Tribune NEVADA, Mo. -- In a season where Nevada's tennis team has taken its lumps, senior Ryan Kimbrough has been a bright spot. Kimbrough, the Tigers' No. 1 singles player for the second year, has seen his game take off in 2007. The fourth-year varsity veteran dominated Neosho's top player Thursday, beating Justin Fox 8-1 in a match the Wildcats controlled the rest of the way...

By Joe Warren Nevada Daily Mail NEVADA -- Showing superior mobility on the court, the Neosho Wildcats beat the Nevada Tigers in tennis Thursday, all but ending Nevada's chances at a Southwest Conference title. The Wildcats simply got to more balls during rallies than their Tiger counterparts, showcasing their overall depth in a 7-2 victory...

Nevada Daily Mail MOUNT VERNON -- The on again, off again nature of spring sports in regards to weather allowed a reprieve for Nevada's tennis team Monday, as they not only got to play, but they collected a 7-2 victory over Mount Vernon. The Tigers collected their first victory since April 5, ending a two-match skid to improve to 2-3 this season...

Nevada Daily Mail BOLIVAR -- The Nevada Tigers lost three matches within three points and couldn't overcome the Bolivar Liberators in tennis action Thursday. Ryan Kimbrough won at No. 1 singles and the team of Kimbrough and Jake Holmes won at No. 2 doubles, but that was all Nevada could muster as they fell 7-2...

Nevada Daily Mail NEOSHO -- The Nevada Tigers couldn't keep up with the Neosho Wildcats in Southwest Conference tennis action Monday. Neosho won 7-2, as Nevada's only victories came in No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles. Ryan Kimbrough, Nevada's No. 1 singles player, was the Tigers' biggest bright spot, beating Justin Fox 8-4. Kimbrough then teamed with Jake Holmes to beat Chad Dwyer and James Carter in No. 1 doubles, 8-2...

Herald-Tribune FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- The last two times Fort Scott High School's tennis team has tried to play a tournament, they've been able to start but not finish. The Tigers' season began extra early, March 13, this year after the Kansas State High School Activities Association moved the state tennis tournament ahead one week, but no schools wanted to play during spring break. The Tigers then had 15 days between scheduled outings before they tried to play at Independence March 29...