Bulldogs Sweep the Zizzers in Tennis Season Opener

March 25, 2026

For the second year in a row, the Bulldogs Tennis team has opened up their season taking on former Ozark Conference foe, the West Plains Zizzers. They made the long drive down Hwy 63 on Tuesday the 24th and for the second year it was a 9-0 sweep in Varsity action.

Make that 17-0 as the “Futures” (what Coach Josh Vinyard calls his Junior Varsity squad) walked away with an 8-0 sweep in their contest.

Quick Tutorial on the Tennis Match

The Tennis contest features both Doubles Matches as well as Single Matches. The Double Matches consist of three teams of players paired together and are ranked matches. In other words, the top doubles team, Doubles 1, from each school will face off and it is the same for the Doubles 2 and Doubles 3.

In the individual matches, each team will take 6 members and they are ranked 1 thru 6 with each player facing off against their counterpart. 

Each contest contributes to the overall team score. Three Doubles matches and six Singles matches results in a total possible 9 points up for grabs.

Bulldogs Dominate in Doubles

Coach Vinyard was able to shake up the Doubles teams due to the Bulldogs #3 player, Sr. Cameron Brown, being unavailable to play.

Doubles 1 featured seniors Keaton Renaud and Paxton Ledbetter pairing up for the 8-2 win. Renaud, one of the top players in the region, was the Bulldogs #1 last season as well. The 6’7” Ledbetter is just starting to understand the potential of his game and how to take advantage of his physical attributes.

Coach Vinyard had talked about the importance of the First Serve in his Inside the Huddle season preview. He highlighted that focus when he spoke about Ledbetter’s improvement.

“Paxton was able to control the game with his serve but we noticed some inconsistency.” That became the focus in practice the following day. “We were able to find a tweak on his serve that we needed to make from the add side (left side) and were able to fix it in practice.”

In Doubles 2, it became a family affair as Jr. Logan Dunn was able to partner up with his cousin and the singles #2, So. Kyle Robinson. They went on to defeat the Zizzers #2 squad, 8-1, giving Dunn his first varsity doubles win.  

Seniors Connor Johnson and Jack Greenway came out aggressively and executed their attack in Doubles 3 to get the 8-1 win, giving the Bulldogs Team a 3-0 lead heading into singles play.

When asked what the Bulldogs can focus on after such a dominant performance, Coach Vinyard didn’t hesitate, “Our doubles teams will need to work on our communication.  We were a bit quiet and will need to talk better this week as we get ready for Hickman.”

Singles Sensation

In the 6 matches, the Bulldogs only allowed the Zizzers to win 3 sets in a dominant performance. 

Coach Vinyard was pleased with the approach of his team. “Our experience overwhelmed them a bit in singles.  We were able to work on some of our singles strategies and finally get to put them into practice against another team.”  

The Future was on Display

It can be a challenge to field a full junior varsity contest as not every school has the numbers that the Bulldogs Tennis program is producing. But the Bulldog Futures were able to get in three doubles matches and five singles contests.  

In doubles, Jr. Owen Black and Fr. Cosmo Conger played very well and actually beat the West Plains Doubles 1 team who requested a second doubles match for experience.  

“Owen had a great first serve going and Cosmo volleyed very well and put away a bunch of points at the net.  They will grow into a really strong doubles team.”

Next Up

April 1st at home versus Hickman (1-0) 4:00 pm start at BerJuan

April 2nd head to Springfield for a tri match with Parkview & Glendale

Match Results

Varsity Defeats West Plains 9-0

Doubles

1. Keaton Renaud & Paxton Ledbetter defeats B. Harris & Joliff, 8-2

2. Kyle Robinson & Logan Dunn defeats B. Strong & Anselm, 8-1

3. Connor Johnson & Jack Greenway defeat Smith & Ray, 8-1

Singles

1. Keaton Renaud defeats B. Harris, 8-1

2. Kyle Robinson defeats Joliff, 8-0

3. Paxton Ledbetter defeats B. Strong, 8-0

4. Connor Johnson defeats Anselm, 8-0

5. Logan Dunn defeats Smith, 8-0

6. Tristan Ace defeats Ray, 8-2

Junior Varsity / Futures Defeats West Plains 8-0

Doubles

1 Jr. Tristan Ace & Jr. Loyal Davis defeats Waddell & Mahurin, 6-0

2. Owen Black and Cosmo Conger defeats Harris & Jolliff,  6-2

3. Fr. Henry Davis & Fr. Eli Ratchford defeats Strong & Anselm, 8-6

Singles

Jack Greenway W 6-0

Loyal Davis W 6-1

Owen Black W 6-1

Cosmo Conger W 6-0

Henry Davis W 6-0