Jerry Jarrell photo - The Dexter tennis team points to the No. 1 court sign after winning the Class 1, District 1 tournament at Sikeston Thursday. The Bearcats advance to the sectional meet next Saturday (May 21) at Sikeston. The doubles team of Derek Roberts and Jake Smith finished second in district play to earn a berth in the state championships to be held at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield May 27-28.

SIKESTON -- Dexter High School's team depth carried the boys tennis team to an undefeated regular season and it paid big dividends again Thursday as the Bearcats captured the MSHSAA Class 1, District 1 Championship at Sikeston.

Jake Smith and Derek Roberts were the only Dexter players to reach a championship match, but Gabe Smith, Derek Clark, Aaron Lavender and Scott Admire recorded enough wins during the long day of tennis to earn the district title over second place Sikeston.

"I thought we performed about as well as we could," Sikeston coach Brian James said of his team's second place finish. "Going into the district tournament, I thought Dexter was clearly the best overall team. They are so solid from top to bottom that I knew it would take them getting upset somewhere along the way and us upsetting somebody."

Twelve schools competed for the Class 1, District 1 title and teams earned two points for a win in singles and two-and-a-half points for a win in doubles. The matches were the best two-of-three sets and the top-two teams advance to sectional play. The top two winners in doubles and singles earned an automatic invitation directly to the state tournament, May 27-28 at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield.

Smith and Roberts, with their second place finish in doubles, will be competing at the state tournament while the team will not know its fate until after sectional play May 21 (Saturday).

The district title was the first for Dexter's boys tennis team since 2000, and made for the perfect gift for retiring tennis coach Leanne Dooley, who will be stepping down as the head of the boys' tennis program at the end of this season.

Dexter will be the host school by way of its first place finish and the sectional match, which will be played at Sikeston. Dexter's opponent will be John Burroughs, runner-up to Clayton in District 2 play. Sikeston, as the runner-up school to Dexter, will play Clayton.

Dexter and Sikeston were tied with 18 points each after the first two rounds of play, but Aaron Lavender and Scott Admire, and Smith and Roberts, eliminated Sikeston's two entries in the doubles bracket in two quarterfinal matchups.

Temperatures were probably near 90, very hot and sunny all day long, making for numerous heat-related cramps during the day, but all in all, I would consider it a very successful tournament for us.

Charleston's top-seeded team of Blake Branum and Derek Hoppe would knock out Lavender and Admire in the semifinals and Smith and Roberts in the finals. Lavender and Admire defeated the team of Haguewood and Davis from Potosi for third place.

In singles, Gabe Smith would battle his way to the semifinals before losing to the eventual singles champion, Marc Leible of Sikeston. Smith finished in third place when his opponent forfeited.

Derek Clark earned crucial points for the Bearcats when he won his first two matches of the day before losing. Clark has played at the five and six single spots for the Bearcats all season, so winning two matches was a big boost for the team.

Dexter finished the regular season with a 11-0 regular season record.

Class 1, District 1

Team Results

1. Dexter 30

2. Sikeston 24

3. St. Pius 17

4. Charleston 16.5

5. North County 11

6. Kennett 9

7. Potosi 7.5

8. Arcadia Valley 6.5

9. Festus 6

10. Crystal City 5

11. Windsor 2.5

12. DeSoto 2