​Eagles tennis starts tough 2025 schedule with 8-1 loss to Titans

by Michael Smith
 

Grain Valley head boys’ tennis coach Randy Draper noted the 2025 schedule is not kind to his team.

The Eagles will face top-level competition throughout, including their season opener they had Tuesday against Lee’s Summit West on the road.

The Titans swept Grain Valley in doubles play and only dropped one game in singles competition as the road team fell 8-1.

“We knew they would be good. They brought back a lot of guys,” Draper said of West. Our schedule is unkind for a reason.”

Grain Valley had three returning starters in the lineup back for the 2025 season. It is missing a fourth as senior Blake Galvan, who was a varsity starter last year, is out with a broken foot.

The Eagles still have a fair amount of experience returning, including junior Riley Spencer, who put up a good fight in the No. 3 singles match against Aarush Gannavaram, but fell 8-6.

Junior Marius Cooper, who is on the varsity for the first time, got Grain Valley’s lone win as he defeated West’s Dawson Gill 8-1 in the No. 4 singles match.

“He keeps the ball in play,” Draper said of Cooper. “He makes you hit another ball. He’s also serving pretty good. I am happy with him.

Cooper said his strategy was to hit the ball near the back of the opponent’s court and it worked out for him.
“I was using angles to get the ball to the back of the court, he was coming to the net a lot,” Cooper said. “I tried to lob it or hit a passing shot on him.”

Cooper said playing good teams like West will benefit the team before they head into the playoffs later in the season.

“It helps us prepare for better games and gets us used to playing good players,” Cooper said.

Despite the loss, Draper was happy with the improvement his players.

​“For some of these guys, playing varsity is eye opening,” Draper said. “We got guys. They are going to be fine. We have a sophomore playing at No. 6, that played well. There are a lot of things to feel good about. I was proud of our guys. We got better as matches went on.”
 

Grain Valley junior Marius Cooper picked up an 8-1 win over Lee's Summit West senior Dawson Gill in the No. 4 singles match Tuesday at Lee's Summit West High School. The Eagles fell to the Titans 8-1 in the team's season opener. Photo credit: Michael Smith