Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School's girls' tennis team kept its perfect record intact and claimed the Class 2 District 6 title with a 5-1 win over the Carl Junction Bulldogs Wednesday at Millennium Family Fitness.
“We don’t really think about that,” T.J. head coach Tom Brumfield said of the Cavaliers' undefeated record. “We just take a game at a time and try to do our best each time. If it works out that way, it works out that way.”
Brumfield pinpointed what he believes has led to the Cavaliers' success this season.
“It’s their dedication,” he said of his squad. “They work hard during the summertime and they try to do as much as they can. They want to be good and are willing to put in the time to be good. That separates them a lot from some other teams.”
TJ (10-0) advanced to Wednesday’s final with a 5-1 win over Webb City Tuesday and CJ (14-7) earned a spot in the finals with a 5-3 win over Springfield Central Tuesday.
During Wednesday’s championship match, TJ senior Esther Yang and sophomore Sara Maksoud got the Cavaliers off to a good start with an 8-1 win over Carl Junction’s Emma Strickland and Annistyn Rogers.
Last week, Yang and Maksoud finished first and second in the C2D6 individual tournament and will compete at the Class 2 Individual State tournament Oct. 22-23 in Springfield.
The Cavaliers No. 2 doubles team of Madelyn Ro and Lucy Lowery claimed an 8-3 win over CJ’s Dempsey Harris and Catherine Hillard.
The Bulldogs No. 3 doubles team of Hannah Thay and Audrey Hayes won their match over TJ’s Julia Mitchell and Sofia Jabbar by a 9-7 score and the teams went into the singles competition with TJ leading 2-1.
Yang defeated Strickland 6-0, 6-0. Maksoud recorded a 6-0, 6-1 win over Harris and Lowery won her match over Hillard 6-1, 6-0 to seal the C2D6 title for the Cavaliers.
“I had expected that we were going to do pretty well considering that we had put in a lot of effort over the summer,” Yang said.
She also talked about how the team has managed to maintain its perfect record.
“I think we keep each other very humble,” Yang said of the team. “We make sure we don’t jinx ourselves, so we don’t talk about it a bunch. We go into a match with a lot of confidence and I think that has helped us.”
Carl Junction head coach Craig Fox shared some final thoughts on his team’s 2026 season.
“We are so proud of these girls. We only had one returning varsity player this year, so to come in with five new varsity players and go 14-7, we are thrilled with what these girls have accomplished. I can’t wait to see what these girls accomplish in the future,” Fox said.
With the win, the Cavaliers will host a Class 2 Sectional against either Logan-Rogersville or Springfield Catholic Tuesday at TJ.