On Saturday afternoon in Excelsior Springs, the Trenton Bulldogs took first place finishes from singles player Nick Shields and the doubles squad of Kade Ockenfels and Creed Houghton, with those three players, in addition to the second place singles entry in Gabe Swann, advancing to sectional competition this (Monday) afternoon at 4 o’clock at the Noyes Courts in St. Joseph.
All four entries medaled, with the doubles team of Jeremy Elliott and Isaac Harris, in their individual district debuts, finishing in third place.
Shields trampled the competition on the way to the singles title, defeating Baker of Richmond in the quarterfinals 6-1, 6-love; Clawson of Excelsior Springs in the semifinals 6-love, 6-love; and his own teammate, Swann, in an all-Trenton final 6-1, 6-1. Shields had a first-round bye.
Swann was strong in an opening round win over Hendricks of Richmond 6-1, 6-2; but found early match struggles against Maasdam of Chillicothe, losing the first set 1-6, before rallying to take the final two sets, and the match, 6-3, 6-4. In the semifinals, Swann won in straight sets against Fitzpatrick of Carrollton, 6-2, 6-2.
Trenton’s doubles championship team of Ockenfels and Houghton had a first-round bye, then beat Linneman and Dirck of the Carrollton Trojans in the quarterfinals 6-1, 6-1; Beasley and Helmich of Cameron in the semifinals, 6-love, 6-love; and McGraw and Boss of Richmond in the championship match, 6-3, 6-love.
Elliott and Harris had back-to-back straight set triumphs to begin their Saturday, beating Chastain and Dickerson of Cameron 6-2, 6-3; and Davis and Davis of Carrollton 6-3, 6-4. In the semifinals, the eventual runner-up team of McGraw and Boss, from Richmond, beat Elliott and Harris, 6-4, 6-4, but the Trenton tandem rebounded for an 8-4 win over Beasley and Helmich of Cameron for the third place medals.
Photo credit – David Sager / Trenton High School Tennis / Excelsior Springs, MO
