Central tennis player Kevin Poggemiller advances to state in singles
By Calvin Silvers
Out at Central High School, the tennis courts are being used heavily, as Missouri Western and local high schools are preparing for their postseason. Central tennis junior Kevin Poggemiller is one of those still out on the courts, as he’s preparing for the 2024 singles state tennis tournament, and he couldn’t be more excited to get down to Springfield, Missouri, and test his skills.
Poggemiller entered the 2024 tennis season with a lot on his plate, as he moved up from the third spot in singles to number one. Former Central Indian River Flaska was the former number one, but after graduating last year, the team had a new leader to follow.
“Kevin stepped into the number one role and has had a great season,” head coach Tommy Castronovo said. “He went 23-8 on the year, which is pretty awesome, so definitely knew it was going to be a challenge for him to come in this year to be the number one guy, but he separated himself right away.”
Becoming the number one player on a team could seem daunting to some, especially jumping from the third spot. However, The Indians program has been a stable one, with Kevin being the fourth straight singles player to participate at the highest level in Missouri high school tennis.
Due to this stability, the junior felt confident in what he’s learned from former teammates.
“I was super prepared for it because we had some guys who left last year who prepared me really well for this moment and we all wanted to win really bad,” Poggemiller said. “There is no fear of playing up or anything.”
This isn’t necessarily a break-through season for Poggemiller, as he’s always had a good set of skills. This was showcased last season where he competed in state in doubles. He wasn’t satisfied with that finish, as there was more to achieve for the young tennis star, and the work began in the offseason right after last year’s state trip.
“He was playing a lot of tournaments, doing as much as he can to get himself into the best position possible because he knew he was going to have to be the number one this year with losing the guys at the top,” Castronovo said.
Poggemiller, being the humble athlete that he is, couldn’t take all the offseason work credit for himself, as this year’s team has had more chemistry than previous.
“More dedication and commitment… like we were out at like 9 p.m. on school nights like hitting,” Poggemiller said. “Now we’ve played a lot of matches against each other. We just believe we can do it even when no one else does.”
In Missouri high school tennis, there are three classes, with Central being in Class 3. The district winner and district loser are the two to advance to state, and the match-ups at the tournament are random, but a district winner is paired with a district loser.
With Poggemiller being a district winner, he’ll be paired with an unknown loser of a district, and knows the competition at this point will be challenging.
“Definitely a lot of athleticism, tennis is not really an age based sport, so you’ll see various ranges from freshmen all the way to senior, but there’s going to be a competitive play,” Castronovo said. “I mean, these are guys that know how to compete and know how to win.”
When Kevin takes the court for the individual state tournament on May 16th down in Springfield, Missouri, he’s hoping for a state title, but also wants to just be competitive.
“I just wanted to be able to compete, like even if I don’t win state, obviously that’s the goal, but even if I don’t, I just want to compete with the best and like make them work,” Poggemiller said. “They have to give their best if they’re going to beat me, nothing easy.”
