The Greenwood Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs are moving deeper into September with the postseason starting to come into view. Head Coach Dexter Pearcy’s teams have already packed plenty of tennis into the first two weeks of the month. Greenwood has seen strong wins, close three-set battles, and a few difficult days against quality competition.

The results have also given Pearcy and his players a better idea of where they stand. The Lady Bulldogs have been especially steady near the top of the lineup. Molly Conley and Emma Grace McCants have produced several singles wins, while Gracie Gibbs and Taelyn Martin have been a strong doubles pair. On the boys side, Jackson Teeter has led the singles lineup, while Caleb Schaefer and Danh Nguyen have put together several wins at No. 1 doubles.

Greenwood vs. Farmington and Shiloh Christian

Greenwood opened the month at home against Farmington and Shiloh on September 1. Against the Lady Cardinals, Conley won the No. 1 girls singles match, 5-3, 4-0. McCants fell at No. 2 singles, 2-4, 3-5. Gibbs and Martin won at No. 1 doubles, 4-1, 4-0, while Bristol Mott and Alivia Kittell dropped a tight three-set match at No. 2 doubles, 3-5, 4-1, 8-10.

The Bulldogs went 3-1 in their four matches against Farmington. Teeter won at No. 1 singles, 4-1, 4-1. Sawyer Harry fell at No. 2 singles, 2-4, 1-4. Schaefer and Nguyen earned a 4-1, 5-4 (7-3) win at No. 1 doubles, while Thomas Veatch and Hayes Whitson won at No. 2 doubles, 5-3, 4-0.

The Lady Bulldogs also faced the Shiloh Christian girls that same day and finished 3-1. Conley won again, 4-1, 4-0. McCants earned a victory after her opponent retired with the match standing 0-4, 0-3. Gibbs and Martin rolled to a 4-0, 4-0 victory. Mott and Kittell were forced to forfeit their match because of illness.

Greenwood vs. Alma

Two days later, Greenwood traveled to Alma and turned in one of its best team performances of the month so far. The Lady Bulldogs swept all four varsity matches. Conley won 4-0, 4-0 at No. 1 singles. McCants followed with a 5-3, 4-2 win. Gibbs and Martin were nearly perfect in a 4-0, 4-0 victory at No. 1 doubles. Mott and Kittell matched that score with their own 4-0, 4-0 triumph.

The Bulldogs finished 3-1 overall. Teeter won 4-0, 4-1 at No. 1 singles. Harry fell 2-4, 1-4 at No. 2 singles. Schaefer and Nguyen won 4-0, 4-0 at No. 1 doubles, while Veatch and Whitson received a forfeit victory at No. 2 doubles.

Greenwood vs. Siloam Springs

The schedule became much tougher on September 8th at Siloam Springs, but the Lady Bulldogs still managed a 3-1 showing. Conley fell at No. 1 singles, 3-5, 0-4, but McCants responded with a 4-2, 5-3 victory. Gibbs and Martin won again at No. 1 doubles, 4-1, 4-1. Mott and Kittell had one of the more dramatic matches of the early month. They dropped the opening set 2-4, answered with a 4-1 win in the second, then took the deciding tiebreaker 10-4.

The Bulldogs were swept 4-0, but two singles matches were competitive. Teeter won the opening set of his match 4-1 before dropping the second 1-4 and the deciding tiebreaker 6-10. Harry lost 0-4, 4-5 (6-8). Schaefer and Nguyen fell 1-4, 1-4, while Veatch and Whitson lost 2-4, 0-4.

Greenwood vs. Mountain Home

The Bombers and Lady Bombers provided another difficult test later that same day in matches played at Siloam Springs, with the Mt. Home girls and boys winning every match. In girls play, Greenwood’s Conley fell 0-4, 1-4, while McCants lost 1-4, 0-4. Gibbs and Martin were defeated 0-4, 0-4, and Mott and Kittell fell 3-5, 0-4.

The boys also finished 0-4. Teeter lost 0-4, 1-4. Harry pushed his match to a deciding tiebreak before falling 4-2, 3-5, 8-10. No scores were available for Greenwood’s Schaefer and Nguyen at No. 1 doubles and Veatch and Whitson at No. 2 doubles, but both matches were losses.

Greenwood vs. Van Buren

Greenwood answered back two days later at home against the Pointers and Lady Pointers of Van Buren, winning five of eight matches. The GHS girls went 3-1 while the boys split four matches, 2-2. In girls play, Conley was dominant in a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles. McCants won 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2 singles, while Ana Rizzo added a 6-2 victory at No. 3 junior varsity singles. Gibbs and Martin continued their strong run with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 1 doubles. Natalie Copher and Kittell battled through three sets before falling 2-6, 6-3, 6-10 at No. 2 doubles.

Greenwood also worked several junior varsity matches into the girls lineup. Charlie Vaughn and Rizzo won 6-0 at No. 3 doubles. Klaire Holland and Vaughn won 8-4 at No. 4 doubles. Avery Tidwell and Rylea Jone won 6-1 at No. 5 doubles, while Paisley Berg and Presley Travis earned a 6-2 victory at No. 6 doubles.

For the Bulldogs, Teeter won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. Harry fell 1-6, 1-6 at No. 2 singles. Schaefer and Nguyen added another victory at No. 1 doubles, 6-4, 6-2. Veatch and Whitson fell 2-6, 3-6 at No. 2 doubles.

Several junior varsity players also got court time for the Bulldogs. Kaleb King and Abel Duvall lost 6-8. Lucas Roper and Drew Williams fell 4-6. Weston King and Jon David Hefflin lost a close one, 8-9 (5-7). Sterling Adams and Jacob Pomianowski closed out the additional matches with a 6-3 victory.

Conference and state tournaments looming

The first two weeks of September have shown both sides of Greenwood’s season. There have been comfortable wins. There have also been matches decided by only a few points. Those close sets may matter later. For Pearcy, the next few weeks are about sharpening the lineup and getting his players ready for the matches that carry the most weight.

But that postseason test will arrive earlier than first expected. The conference tournament in Siloam Springs has been moved up a week from October 5-6 to September 28-29. That gives the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs only a short window to finish their preparation.

Greenwood has already shown it can win at the top of the lineup. It has also built more depth as September has moved along. Now the goal is to keep getting better. Every match between now and the end of the month is another step toward conference and another chance for Greenwood to be playing its best tennis when the postseason begins and players across the 5A West conference qualify for the state tournament in Searcy in October.