The Greenwood High School tennis season is entering its final stretch, and both the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs will have something left to play for in October. After closing the regular season with strong performances against Alma and Van Buren, Greenwood’s boys and girls each finished third at the 2026 5A West Conference Tournament.
The postseason run also produced two state-qualifying doubles teams, with Caleb Schaefer and Danh Nguyen representing the Bulldogs and Taelyn Martin and Gracie Gibbs advancing for the Lady Bulldogs. Both Greenwood doubles teams will enter the 5A State Tournament in Hot Springs on October 12th as #4 seeds.
Dominating the Airedales
Greenwood’s late-season momentum was on full display September 22nd against Alma. The Lady Bulldogs swept the four matches that counted toward the overall team result. Molly Conley opened the singles lineup with a 6-0, 6-4 victory, while Emma McCants was dominant in a 6-0, 6-1 win. Gracie Gibbs added a 6-0, 6-0 singles victory. Gibbs then teamed with Martin in #1 doubles, and the pair did not surrender a game in a 6-0, 6-0 triumph. Bristol Mott and Alivia Kittell were nearly as dominant at #2 doubles, winning 6-1, 6-1.
The Bulldogs also finished 4-0 in the varsity team result. Jackson Teeter cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 victory at #1 singles, while Sawyer Harry survived one of the closest matches of the day. After splitting the opening sets (6-1, 5-7), Harry prevailed 11-9 in the deciding tiebreaker. Greenwood’s top two boys doubles teams also delivered. Schaefer and Nguyen won 6-0, 6-4, while Thomas Veatch and Hayes Whitson posted a 6-0, 6-3 victory.
Greenwood holds serve at Van Buren
Two days later, Greenwood traveled across the Arkansas River for another competitive match, basically battling the Pointers and Lady Pointers to a draw. The Lady Bulldogs split the four varsity contests, with their two victories coming in singles. Conley earned a 6-4, 6-2 win at #1, and McCants followed with a convincing 6-2, 6-0 performance at #2. Martin and Gibbs came within inches of another doubles victory. After dropping the opening set 3-6, they answered with a 6-0 second set before falling 9-11 in the deciding tiebreaker.
The Greenwood ladies also showed some depth in four additional junior varsity doubles matches. Natalie Copher and Ana Rizzo, Avery Tidwell and Rylea Jones, Paisley Berg and Presley Travis, and Maddi Nguyen and Charlie Vaughn all picked up victories. JV matches are essential for developing talent and gaining experience for next season.
The boys also split their four varsity matches at Van Buren. Harry was nearly flawless at #2 singles, winning 6-0, 6-0. Schaefer and Nguyen then battled through a three-set thriller at #1 doubles. They won the opening set in a tiebreaker, dropped the second, and recovered to take the deciding tiebreaker 10-7.
The Greenwood boys again received several wins deeper down their lineup. Kaleb King and Abel Duvall, Jon David Hefflin and Drew Williams, Weston King and Lucas Roper, and Sterling Adams and Jacob Pomianowski each earned doubles victories. Hopefully some of those players will be ready to move up to varsity level next season for Head Coach Dexter Pearcy.
Siloam Springs hosts 5A West tournament
Those final regular season matches prepared Greenwood for the 5A West conference tournament in Siloam Springs this past Monday and Tuesday, where both teams finished third against a strong field. For the Bulldogs, Schaefer and Nguyen entered the tournament as the #4 seed and quickly backed up that ranking with a 6-0, 6-1 first-round victory.
They faced a much tougher test in the quarterfinals, losing the first set 0-6 before completely changing the direction of the match. The Greenwood pair rallied to win the final two sets, 7-5 and 6-4, earning a place in the semifinals. Their tournament run ended with losses in the semifinal and third-place matches, but their performance secured them a #4 seed at state.
Veatch and Whitson also advanced through the opening round, winning a three-set match 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 before falling in the quarterfinals. Teeter was sharp in his opening singles match, rolling to a 6-0, 6-1 victory before dropping a competitive 4-6, 4-6 decision in the second round. Harry pushed his first-round opponent to three sets before falling, 3-6, 6-4, 3-6.
The Lady Bulldogs followed a similar path. Martin and Gibbs entered conference play as the #4 seed and opened with a commanding 6-1, 6-1 doubles victory. Their quarterfinal match was far tighter, but the Greenwood duo held on for a 6-4, 7-6 victory, taking the second-set tiebreaker 7-2.
Their semifinal match was another battle. Martin and Gibbs fell 4-6 in the opening set and pushed the second to a tiebreaker before narrowly losing 6-8. They later dropped the third-place match 6-8, finishing the tournament as the league’s #4 doubles team and earning the same seed for state. Mott and Kittell also picked up a postseason victory, winning their first-round match 6-2, 6-4 before being eliminated in the quarterfinals. In singles play, Conley opened with a strong 6-1, 6-2 win, while McCants advanced with a 6-0, 6-4 victory. But both girls saw their conference runs end with losses in the second round.
Mountain Home won the tournament on the girls side of things, followed by Shiloh Christian in second place, while the Mountain Home boys finished second behind first place Siloam Springs. With the conference tournament complete, most of Greenwood’s season is now in the books. But two doubles teams still have an opportunity to extend it.
For Schaefer and Nguyen, and for Martin and Gibbs, the next stop is Hot Springs on October 12th, where both Greenwood teams will enter the state tournament carrying #4 seeds and a season’s worth of close matches, comebacks, and experience with them. The state tournament is hosted this year by Lakeside High School.
The two GHS doubles teams now have more than 10 days to practice and hone their skills and polish their teamwork before heading to the Spa City. We wish them well as they represent their coaches, teammates, their school, and their community on the state tournament stage.