Central tennis wins the Kickapoo Invitational

By Don Eskins (for OzarksSportsZone.com)

The Central Bulldogs bested the field at the Kickapoo Invitational Tournament on Friday at the Gillenwaters Tennis Courts in Springfield.

The Bulldogs took down the host Kickapoo Chiefs in the final matchup of the day, a round robin-style event, to capture this year’s tournament title.

Also included were the Glendale Falcons, who finished third, and the Springfield Catholic Fighting Irish, who finished fourth. The tournament ended with Bolivar Liberators and Parkview Vikings.

Central High head coach Donita Cox said her kids were ready to play and focused on getting this year’s KIT title when the game started.

“Our kids had a goal when they came out here this morning, and that was to win this tournament,” the Bulldog coach said. “With that in mind, they approached today’s event very professionally and got it done.”

“They’ve worked really hard over the last few years to get to this point. Now they’re reaping the benefits of all that hard work,” Cox said. “They’re such a great group of kids both on and off the field, and I’m very proud of each and every one of them.”

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES FROM THE TOURNAMENT

Joshua Kim, who anchors the Bulldogs No. 1 spot, said there was also something else that helped them clinch this year’s title.

“We expect to win every time we take the field,” Kim said. “But we were the defending champions this year and we wanted to make sure we didn’t give up. We were all happy to be able to repeat.

“We definitely expected to win again this year,” Central’s Raghav Bansil said. “But things went much better for us than we expected. Everyone played exceptionally well and we dominated the tournament.

Overall, according to tournament director and Kickapoo head coach Eric Wilbur, the tournament went smoothly and showcased many of the best high school tennis players in the area and state.

“It was a good tournament, unlike last year the weather was very good and we saw some really good competition from all six teams,” Wilbur said. “But in the end, it was Keski that rose to take this year’s Kickapoo Invitational championship.”

Wilbur was particularly pleased with the behavior of all participants in the tournament.

“All of our competitors seemed happy today. It’s largely because of the coaches. They’ve all tried to instill in their kids not only competitiveness and sportsmanship, but also just to have fun,” he said. “That’s what tennis is all about, it’s a fun sport.”

Kickapoo’s Jeff Bai agreed.

– Our team is more than a family. We always play hard, but it’s not just about tennis. For us, it’s more about doing our best and having fun in the process,” said Bai. “When we have fun most of the time, we win. Even though it didn’t happen today, we did our best and had fun. That’s what families do. Now it’s time for the next tournament.”