Joplin, Mo. was the destination for RBHS boys tennis team on the afternoon of May 24 for the varsity team sectionals. There were singles and doubles matches, and RBHS competed against two teams, Glendale and Joplin.

RBHS won 5-0 against Joplin, and then won again against Glendale 5-2.

“We really focused last week in practice to prepare for our opponents. We swept Joplin and beat Glendale 5 to 2,” senior tennis player Nate Horvit said. “Both schools have very good teams, and we respected that going into the competition.”
Earlier in the season, the team played Joplin and won, but it was their first time playing Glendale, which was the better of the two teams, tennis coach Ben Loeb said.
“This was a challenging sectional,” Loeb said. “Glendale has the players to beat us on a given day, but our guys stepped it up and played with a confidence and conviction to get it done.”
Even with the school year wrapping up, the tennis team still has practices and games to attend. The team practices every day this week, including Memorial day.
“We prepared [for this game] by practicing hard,” junior tennis player Rohit Rao said. “We will have practices until Thursday where we have team and individual state.”
By winning against Joplin and Glendale, the RBHS team qualifies for the Final Four (State Semi-finals) which will take place on Thursday, May 29 in Springfield. This is the 13th consecutive year for RBHS to qualify for the Final Four.
“It’s been an amazing run. They better get us next season or else this Final Four streak could last for the rest of the decade,” Loeb said. “The individual double tournament is on Fri & Sat, May 30-31. We hope to have a strong finish to go with the outstanding season we have had to date.”
By Sophie Whyte