The Park Hill boys tennis team didn’t just repeat as district champions — they did so in dominant fashion.
The top-seeded Trojans swept No. 4 Park Hill South 5-0 in the semifinals on May 6, then repeated that same score against No. 2 Liberty in the Class 3 District 8 championship on May 8.
Unlike last season’s dramatic 5-4 win over Liberty as the No. 2 seed, Park Hill controlled this year’s championship from start to finish.
The Trojans reshuffled their doubles pairings and still managed to dominate, winning all three opening matches to seize early control.
Andrew Miller and Will Poole earned the most decisive result with an 8-1 win, while Carter Lovitt and Bond Paisley teamed up for an 8-3 victory. Franco Timotei and Cody Phan completed the doubles sweep with an 8-4 result to give Park Hill a commanding 3-0 lead.
It was a quick and emphatic start that set the tone, something Park Hill head coach Rustin Reys was thrilled to see.
“It just takes the wind out of the sails,” Reys said. “We took it to them. They did the things I wanted them to do without me having to tell them to do it. That never happens, so I’m so proud of their execution, their listening and staying dialed in.”
Timotei and Poole wasted little time clinching the match in singles. Timotei defeated Greyson Horwitz 6-1, 6-1, and Poole followed with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Luke Perschon to seal the district title with a 5-0 triumph.
With the team result decided, the remaining four singles matches were left unfinished — though Park Hill was in control of most of those as well.
“It feels great,” Poole said. “Last year we were a little bit more of an underdog so it was a bit more fun, but this year was really fun to go out and really put it on teams and make a statement.”
The Trojans improved to 15-2 overall with the win. Their only two losses came in close 5-4 decisions to Class 3 powers Rockhurst and Pembroke Hill during the regular season.
“It’s really cool to be the team that everybody wants to beat,” Poole said. “As a public school, it can be hard to get players sometimes, but when you’re going out there and competing with teams like Rockhurst and Pembroke (Hill), you know you’re really making a statement.”
For Reys, the team’s ability to manage matches with little coaching is one of its most defining traits.
“They are their own coaches,” Reys said. “It just shows their experience; they’ve been here before and won it last year and gave Pembroke (Hill) a fight in quarterfinals.”
That growth showed in Miller’s performance against Liberty’s Logan Huyser, the singles district champion. Miller won the first set 7-5 before the match was called. It was a stark contrast from their previous meeting on April 17, when Huyser won 8-1.
Park Hill junior Andrew Miller against Liberty on May 8.
Reys pointed to Miller’s tactical adjustments — attacking more at the net and controlling pace and dictation — as evidence of the team’s improvements.
Those strides helped them remain competitive against Rockhurst in their quarterfinal matchup on May 12. Ultimately, the Trojans fell 5-1 to one of the state title contenders but had some very competitive matches that didn’t fall in their favor.