​Eagles tennis starts out strong, but falls to Warrensburg

by Michael Smith


The Grain Valley boys tennis team got off to an ideal start.

The Eagles won two out of their three doubles matches against Warrensburg, a team that made it to the Class 1 state tournament in 2023.

They had a challenge on their hands in Monday’s non-conference matchup and home and took a 2-1 lead early on. However, Grain Valley dropped all six singles matches as it fell 7-2.

Warrensburg was on a tear coming in as it improved to 8-0 after the win. In eight matches, Warrensburg the Tigers lost just 10 total games. While, the Eagles may have lost, they gained valuable experience after playing of the best teams in Class 2.

“This kind of puts out season into perspective,” Grain Valley senior Ben Drinkwater said. “If you ask anyone on this team, they probably played the best tennis they have all season against this team. Against a good team, we all rise to the occasion.”

“We just need to figure out who can play those last four, five, six spots (in singles).”

Grain Valley (3-3) got a boost early on from its No. 3 doubles team of Campbell Childers and Riley Spencer took down the team of the previously unbeaten duo of Calvin Werner and Liam Hynes, 8-5. The Eagles twosome has provided consistency for head coach Randy Draper and his team and that showed on Monday.

Childers and Spencer only play doubles for the Eagles, while Blake Galvan and Aidan Wilson just play singles.

“With their style of play, we thought having them play in doubles made sense,” Draper said of Childers and Spencer. “They’re aggressive at the net. They haven’t disappointed. They are comfortable together.”

Drinkwater and Trace Compton notched the Eagles other doubles win as they topped Quinn Conley and Anthony Rehn, 8-5, in the No. 1 doubles game.

Drinkwater noted that his chemistry with Compton is getting better as the season progresses.

“We are doing way better than last year,” Drinkwater said. “Our goal is to go state this year. It’s pretty encouraging to get this win. I am excited. We usually play better against better teams. We rise to the occasion.”

Drinkwater said he is the aggressive won on the team who makes plays close to the net and the baseline, while Compton focuses on returning shots from the baseline and in the back.

“When the ball comes to him, he knows exactly what he needs to do,” Drinkwater said. “I am the one who makes the aggressive plays.”

In singles, the Eagles had some close matches but came up short. Johns Cassidy fell 8-5 Werner in the No. 4 doubles match; Galvin narrowly lost to Hynes 8-6; and Carter Williams fell 8-6 against Rehn.

“I am pretty happy with our doubles play,” Draper said. “We have some guys trying to figure out how to be successful in singles. There is a lot of people better at doubles, because they have a partner with them. It relaxes them.”

“We need to get some guys more comfortable playing by themselves and thinking about how they are going to score points.”

The Eagles head to Park Hill South for the Park Hill Doubles tournament on Wednesday, April 10th.