Riffe makes history at state tennis

Lucas Riffe became the first Republic boys tennis player to win a match at the state tournament before falling in the Class 3 quarterfinals on May 14 in Springfield.

Riffe defeated Aristen Malone of Francis Howell Central 6-1, 7-6 in the opening round. After winning the first set easily, Riffe fell behind 2-4 in the second set before rallying. He held serve to make it 3-4, then broke Malone to get back on serve at 4-4.

The sophomore fought through a crucial game at 5-5, overcoming a double-fault and two unforced errors while saving two game points for Malone. In the tiebreaker, Riffe trailed 2-4 and saved two set points before winning the final three points for a 9-7 victory.

The historic win set up a quarterfinal match against top-seeded David Bell of Pembroke Hill. Riffe took a 3-2 lead in the first set by breaking serve, but Bell immediately broke back and eventually won 6-3. The second set featured several close games, with Riffe saving multiple game points to stay competitive before Bell closed out the match 6-3, 6-3.

Riffe fell in his final match to Arnab Chakraborty of Marquette 6-3, 6-3, finishing tied for ninth place. He completed his sophomore season with a 21-3 singles record, losing only four matches on the court all year.