DEXTER, Mo. - The Dexter Bearcats finally booked its spot in the Class 1, District 1 boys tennis championship Thursday afternoon.
Top-seeded Dexter won all three doubles matches and the first two singles matches completed to secure a 5-0 victory against fifth-seeded Potosi in a district semifinal that last 92 minutes. The match was originally scheduled for Tuesday but was delayed 48 hours due to inclement weather.
"We haven't played since last Friday," Dexter tennis coach Kurt Lovelady said. "We were coming off a big win against Poplar Bluff, but hadn't played Potosi yet. Potosi hits a little different than what we are used to down here. They are more consistent and take a little pace off the ball. It took us a little while to adjust to that on most courts."
The closest match of the day was the No. 3 doubles match between Dexter's Jacob Crumley and Will Brehmer and Potosi's Gabe Adams and Eli Hampton. Crumley-Brehmer won the match 8-5.
Dexter's Ethan Flowers and Addison Moore won the No. 1 doubles match against Potosi's Kyle Ziegler and John Rupp 8-1. Dexter's Zach Potts and Joshua Kohlbaker also won the No. 2 doubles match against Potosi's Aaron Wright and Colin Boyer 8-1.
Potts beat Potosi's Dylan Wilson 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 2 singles match.
Dexter's Tyler Stevenson beat Boyer 6-3, 6-1 in the No. 5 singles match.
Defending district champion Dexter (10-2) is slated to host Notre Dame (5-7) in the district final Friday at 2 p.m.
Third-seeded Notre Dame upset-second seeded Arcadia Valley 5-3 Wednesday to reach the district final.
Dexter beat Notre Dame 8-1 on Mar. 29 and Apr. 5.
"We played Notre Dame early in the season," Lovelady said. "I haven't seen them since, but they are coming off a big win against Arcadia Valley. That win shows they are probably playing a lot better than the last time we saw them so we need to bring our good game Friday if we want to come away with a win."