The 2026 season was an incredible journey for the MICDS Boys Tennis team! While we didn’t capture the state title, we navigated a challenging and highly successful year after our move from Class 2 to Class 3 due to MSHSAA’s championship factor. This realignment put us in the same district as John Burroughs, which ultimately ended our team’s State tournament run, but we showed the entire state exactly what we are made of.
We remained one of the top teams in Missouri, proving our strength by decisively defeating Class 1 State Champion Clayton 9-0 and Class 2 State Champion Ladue 5-4. Class 3 was a major challenge, with our only other two losses coming to State finalist Rockhurst and third-place finisher Marquette. John Burroughs is a formidable team, and even in our hard-fought 5-2 district championship loss, we proved to be their toughest opponent. Ultimately, they went on to defeat Rockhurst 5-1 in the State Final.
Our overall record was an impressive 14-3, but the highlight was our triumphant performance at the Spring Break Tennis High School Invitational in Chattanooga, where we swept all four matches against elite competition from Knoxville, Nashville, Charlotte, and Springfield, Illinois.
The future is incredibly bright! We are returning almost our entire roster next season, with the exception of Owen Kizer ’26. We had spectacular individual performances this year: Kizer and Max Padratzik ’27 were sensational, finishing 2nd in the doubles championship. Our #3 singles player, Evan Gao ’29, had a flawless season, finishing undefeated, and teamed up with Reid Caruthers ’28 to place 4th at individual Districts and secure the Metro League Tournament title. Additionally, Kizer dominated the singles court, winning the Metro League Tournament by defeating the reigning Class 2 state singles champion. I am so proud of how this team battled all season long!
