The Lady Tigers tennis team knocked off Branson in the district tennis tournament, advancing to the championship match against Ozark tomorrow night. Republic will host the title match starting tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday’s victory hinged largely on a gutsy performance by senior Ta’lor Sandul. Sandul was battling a hamstring injury, but teamed with Kaytlin Pearce for a 9-8 victory in doubles–winning a tiebreaker 7-3. In singles, Sandul won the clinching match 6-2 6-4.
“She’s may be the toughest tennis player I’ve ever coached,” Eric Hanson said of Sandul after her doubles win. Sandul played a match with a broken toe last year, and has played through other injuries during her career as well.
Pearce also picked up a win in singles, 6-2 6-0. And Jocelyn Carpenter won her singles match 6-0 6-0, after teaming with Ashley Cameron for an 8-1 win in doubles. Cameron didn’t finish her singles match because Sandul’s victory clinched the team win for Republic.