Greenwood High School tennis coach Dexter Pearcy is expecting big things from his Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs he revealed in a recent interview at the start of their season. The two GHS squads opened their 2024 campaign last Tuesday, August 20th, with a home match against tiny Acorn High School located in Polk County near the city of Mena. Greenwood won nine of the ten matches played to kick off their schedule, one that Coach Pearcy expects to end well for the 23 players populating his two rosters. Greenwood also hosted Lifeway Christian last Thursday. See the scores at the end of this article. Both GHS teams opened league play this week with matches against Harrison and Siloam Springs on Tuesday and Russellville on Thursday.
The Bulldogs have 10 players out this summer, including two seniors, one junior, six sophomores, and one freshman. The Lady Bulldogs have 13 players led by five seniors, two juniors, three sophomores, and three freshmen. Both squads began practicing in late July and will play a dozen matches through the end of September before postseason play begins with the 5A West conference tournament October 7-8 with the state tournament a week later.
The Lady Bulldogs won a conference championship last fall but lost seven senior girls to graduation. Still, they have five returning players this season who are seniors and are poised for another strong run through the conference. The GHS boys are young overall, but their two seniors are the best players on the team and should provide solid play while younger squad members gain experience and confidence throughout the season. After a nice finish to the 2023 campaign, Coach Pearcy and his players are expecting more of the same in 2024.
Also the varsity boys assistant basketball coach, this is Pearcy’s fifth season with GHS tennis and his fourth as head coach, succeeding the late Dr. Ken Hamilton, who was a legend in high school tennis in Arkansas, leading the GHS program for 25 years. Coach Pearcy began as an assistant to Hamilton before taking over as head coach. He is now assisted by Randy Magness, a registered volunteer whose daughter, MacKenzie, also plays on the team. Coach Magness is a lifelong tennis enthusiast who has played the sport and given private lessons for years. “He does a great job,” said Pearcy.
“We started practicing toward the end of July and we’ve gone five days a week since then and the kids have done really well and progressed. We typically have a few more girls come out than guys, but that tenth grade class of boys is pretty heavy. My two senior boys have played a ton in varsity, Lucas Hefflin and Alex Schaefer,” said the coach. [Junior] Wesley Jarrell played varsity last year and Caleb Schaefer played varsity at the end of the year, and he did a good job, so we have some guys returning that have some varsity experience.
“Lucas and Alex are going to be a really strong doubles team for us,” Pearcy continued. “[Sophomore] Caleb Schaefer is going to be our #1 singles player and Wesley Jarrell will be our #2 singles player. Thomas Veatch and Hayes Whitson, both sophomores, will be our #2 doubles team.” Other boys on the team include Sawyer Harry, Noah Brown, Jon David Hefflin, all sophomores, and freshmen Weston King.
On the girls side of things, Pearcy started with his seniors and MacKenzie Magness, who is listed as a senior on the roster but is really only a junior in eligibility. The studious and impressive Lady Bulldog netter has enough academic credits to be a senior and will graduate a year early. “She’s always been pretty good and last year was borderline varsity,” he said. “This year she’s a no brainer varsity player for us.”
The GHS head coach also talked about his daughter, Kylah, a junior who switched from volleyball to tennis to keep her busy before the start of basketball season, where she is a star player for the three-time defending state champion Lady Bulldogs. “This is the first year she is playing,” said Pearcy. “She retired from volleyball, but we told her she was not just going to sit around and play one sport, so she said she wanted to do tennis. Coach Magness has worked with her, and she’s done well with it. She’s playing with MacKenzie Magness and they get along well. They are our #1 doubles team.
“Harper Berg and Emma Koenigseder are one and two in girls singles and are both really strong players,” continued Pearcy. “I told Coach Magness yesterday that either one of them are capable of winning our conference. I think we are really strong in girls singles being anchored by two seniors like them. Harper played doubles up until now and was the doubles conference champion the last two years. She’s had a lot of success in the program. Emma’s also going to be a singles player and she’s really impressive. She doesn’t let much get by her. She’s super consistent and a really solid player. She and Harper are going to be really strong competitors for us.” Pearcy also referenced the rules adopted by conference coaches requiring all singles players to play every other singles player in the league at least once to allow for proper seeding at the conference tournament, which has been a problem in the past.
Besides his daughter, Kylah, a newcomer to the sport of tennis, the coach talked briefly about the only other junior listed on his roster, Daisy Farris. “Daisy just picked up tennis this year as well. She’s a newcomer and a JV player for us who is doing well. Taelyn Martin is on our #2 doubles team. She is a softballer who picked up tennis this year. Her partner is either Klaire Holland or Alivia Kittell. Klaire and Alivia are like splitting hairs, so we are using this week in non-conference play to get that nailed down. They are super close.” All three girls – Taelyn, Klaire, and Alivia – are sophomores.
The Lady Bulldogs also have three freshmen girls on the roster, including Madison Ngyuen, Charlie Vaughn, and Izzabella Espinosa. “There’s some potential there,” said their coach of his ninth-grade girls. “Charlie and Izzy are new to tennis. I think Charlie has taken some lessons before, so she’s got a little more skill. Izzy is a softballer who is really athletic. There’s definitely some promise in that ninth-grade class for the future.
“All the doubles teams will play each other, and all the singles players will play each other,” explained Pearcy. “It makes it way easier to seed everybody [in the conference tournament]. That means you only get one shot at each player [or doubles team] from the other schools, but [we] will get a shot at everybody. So it’s pretty cut-and-dry where you get seeded, and that’s really important, having a good draw in the conference tournament, trying to score some points and make a run.
“Last year our girls did just enough, and it came down to the last doubles match with Harper and Lydiah Belue, and they won and gave our girls the conference championship. All season long it’s really about setting up for that conference tournament to give ourselves a chance. This is the first year we’re going to have a central reporting of our scores on a spreadsheet and everybody will be able to see it. [The coaches] will have a meeting to hash out any discrepancies or ties, and it’s a lot better for the kids. It’s a lot more fair and gives them a better opportunity to succeed.”
Asked to explain the postseason formula for reaching the state tournament, Pearcy said, “To qualify for state we have to finish in the top four in our conference. We have a two-day conference tournament, and if you win your first two matches and make it to the second day you are going to state. We play the semifinals and finals on the second day. Last year we had three girls go to state. Two of them have graduated and Harper Berg is left.”
The coach was not certain but believes the league tournament will be held in Russellville as in the past, with matches split between Russellville High School and Arkansas Tech University. “The boys will play at one location and the girls at the other, then on the second day everybody goes to ATU.” Pearcy also said that to reduce travel for all the teams, some matches will involve multiple teams at neutral locations. “When we play Farmington and Shiloh, they are new to our conference, we’ll meet them at Van Buren and Alma. We’ll meet Harrison and Siloam Springs in Russellville. We lost Mountain Home and Greenbrier,” said the coach of the changes in the conference lineup.
Regarding his teams’ chances of making the state tournament, Pearcy said, “I think we’ll definitely have the chance to send both boys and girls to the state tournament. This could be the year we send a bunch of kids to state. We’ve got some seniors – two seniors we count on in boys and three seniors we count on in girls [play]. We’re a senior-heavy team as far as talent on the varsity squad. Since I’ve been head coach, this could be our best opportunity to send the most kids to state. It really depends on how the other teams shake out and what the competition level looks like. But I’m definitely excited for the kids and think they’ve got a good chance. I love watching our kids compete and enjoy what they’re doing.”
Concluding the interview, the GHS tennis coach talked about the new digs now available to both GHS tennis players and the softball team. “Last year they completed the new tennis courts. They did a whole new foundation and fencing, new nets, everything, and that’s been really nice. Now they’ve built the tennis and softball locker room complex, and it’s a really nice setup. Boys and girls have their own locker rooms and bathrooms. It’s air conditioned. That’s really rare in Class 5A and probably 6A too. I don’t know any other programs that have locker rooms that are accessible to the court. We’ve tried to make it a big deal and help [the players] understand what they’ve been given and how special it is. To me, it shows how much the [district] cares about giving all the kids in every sport the best experience they can.”
Greenwood vs. Acorn
In their season opener on August 20th the GHS girls and boys combined for a 9-1 victory over tiny Acorn High School. Harper Berg and Emma Koenigseder both won their singles matches, 6-0, 6-0. Mackenzie Magness and Kylah Pearcy won their doubles match, 6-1, 6-0. The GHS duo of Taelyn Martin and Klaire Holland lost, 4-6, 6-2, 10-12, while Taelyn Martin and Alivia Kittel won their match, 4-6, 6-2, 10-2.
After the GHS ladies won 4-1, the Greenwood boys went undefeated, going 5-0. Caleb Schaefer won 6-0, 6-0, while Wesley Jarrell won, 6-1, 6-0. In doubles play, Lucas Hefflin and Alex Schaefer won, 6-1, 6-0. Thomas Veatch and Hayes Whitson also won handily, 6-1, 6-1. Finally, Veatch and Jon David Hefflin won 6-1, 6-1.
Lifeway Christian
The GHS varsity girls carried the day last Thursday, going 4-0 against Lifeway Christian, while the GHS boys went 1-3. In girls singles, Harper Berg and Emma Koenigseder each won their matches by identical scores, 6-1, 6-0. In doubles play, Mackenzie Magness and Kylah Pearcy won their contest easily, 6-1, 6-2. The GHS duo of Taelyn Martin and Klaire Holland battled their way to a three-set victory, dropping the first set, 4-6, then winning 7-6 (7-4) and 10-6 to take the match.
The only win for the Bulldogs was by Caleb Schaefer who cinched his singles match in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4. Wesley Jarrell lost his match, 4-6, 2-6. In doubles play, Lucas Hefflin and Alex Schaefer lost 2-6, 6-4, 9-11. Likewise, Thomas Veatch and Hayes Whitson lost their match, 6-4, 5-7, 9-11.
In junior varsity play, the GHS duo of Izzy Espinosa and Daisy Farris lost 5-8, Mingyue Vass and Laurali O’Connor fell 5-8, while Charlie Vaughn and Sawyer Harry lost 6-8. The duo of Sawyer Harry and Jon David Hefflin won their match, 8-6, while Noah Brown and Weston King won their contest, 8-4.