Republic honored its four tennis seniors during a ceremony this week. We’ve gathered tributes to all four in one place, and you can scroll down to see photos from the ceremony, along with some pictures of the match that followed (against Mt. Vernon). As always, a big thanks to Angela Hughes at Artistic Photography for making these extended tributes possible!
Congratulations to all of this year’s senior Republic athletes!
Your senior photos shouldn’t just be photos–they should be an experience. There’s no one better to help you create that senior experience than Angela at Artistic Photography. You can see portraits featuring some of tonight’s seniors below. Call her at 417-737-1901 or find her on Instagram or Facebook.
Artistic photography — more than a portrait… A work of art.
(Tributes written by Coach Dan Vales)
Gabe Bandfield
Gabe is the son of Robert and Rhonda Bandfield. Gabe is from a military family and we our appreciative of their service for our country. They also have a tennis tradition, as their daughter Ashley played on the varsity her senior year here. Gabe is an outstanding student- achieving over a 4.0 grade point average. In addition to tennis, Gabe has participated on the Republic soccer team and National Honor Society. Following high school, Gabe plans to attend the University of Texas San Antonio to study Biology/pre-med.
Brad Hendrix
Brad Hendrix is the son of Pamela Dake. Like Gabe, Brad is an outstanding student with a 3.8+ grade point average. Brad participated his junior year in National Honor Society. Following high school, Brad plans to attend Mizzou. Bradley is one of the all-time greats in the Republic boys tennis program. He is in the top three players to ever play at Republic. Brad currently holds the single-season program record for most wins in a season at 1 doubles, 2 singles and 3 singles.
Drew Mackey
Drew Mackey is the son of Steve and Becky Mackey. Drew is from another tennis family on the team, with his brother Dylan on the squad as well. Like the other seniors, Drew is an outstanding student as well, with over a 4.0 grade point average. In addition to tennis, Drew is a member of National Honor Society. At this time, Drew is still undecided on choice of college, weighing different scholarships options being presented to him to study pre-med. This is Drew’s first year as member of the team. Drew has made rapid progress on his game, and it is only a reflection of the depth we have developed that he is not a currently in the top 6. He has been a major reason for the unprecedented success our JV has enjoyed this season thus far, going 7-1 as a team.
Michael Nacy
Michael is the son of Lee Ann and Jim Nacy. Like the other boys, Michael is an outstanding student- achieving over a 4.0 grade point average. In addition to tennis, Michael is active in Student Council and National Honor Society. After high school, Michael plans to study electrical engineering at Missouri S&T.
Michael has had an amazing career here at Republic. He is currently the singles all time wins leader, racking up 56 wins thus far. Michael is a natural leader- mainly leading by example- from always hustling to pick up balls to working to make all teammates feel included in what we are doing. This current season Michael is 11-0 in #1 singles and is on-track to break his own singles record.
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