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Netters topple Dexter
SIKESTON - The Sikeston Bulldogs tennis team improved to 3-0 on the season with a 7-2 win against Dexter on Tuesday.
Although the final score appeared lopsided, most of the matches went down to the wire.
"The score was not indicative of how close this match was," said Sikeston head coach Brian James. "We had two tiebreaker wins, another one we won 8-6, a break here or there, and it could've gone the other way. It was good to see us dig in and win those close ones. That will help us on down the line."
Sikeston recorded victories in the top five singles matches.
Ryne Vickery defeated Drew Wethington 9-8 (7-5); Peter Jones beat Jake Smith 8-0; Marc Leible beat James Ford 9-8 (8-6); Chris Robey beat Derek Roberts 8-6; and Kyle Weeks beat Nathan Long 8-3.
Dexter's only singles winner was Ben Smith, who beat Matt Strom 8-2.
In doubles, Vickery and Jones teamed up to beat Wethington and Ford 9-7.
Leible and Robey beat Jake Smith and Roberts 8-5.
Weeks and Kyle Howard lost Sikeston's other match 4-8 to Long and Ben Smith.
"We're starting to play a little better, but we're nowhere near where we'll need to be by district tournament time," said James. "We just have to keep improving every day.
"We've got a real tough one tomorrow against Charleston. We're going to have to be at our best tomorrow to even have a chance. Charleston has an outstanding team from No. 1 through 6. It'll be a real challenge for us."
Sikeston hosts Charleston today at 4 p.m.
In junior varsity, Sikeston only won one match.
Logan Wagoner and Strom won in doubles.
Dexter's JV singles winners were Scott Admire, Derek Clark, T.J. Robey, Gabe Smith, Stuart Barney and Matt Pippins.
The Bearcats' JV doubles winners were Robey/Haley and Shelton/Reiker.