For the sixth straight year, the Liberators played tennis on the final day of the MSHSAA Class 1 boys spring season, capping off a postseason packed with wins. In a second consecutive season, the Liberators ended 2026 with a win and a near perfect record, taking third in state after dropping the only loss of the season to Clayton in state semifinals. The team’s Final Four appearance punctuated a postseason that included an Ozark Mountain Conference title for the team and five Liberators punching tickets to the MSHSAA individual state tournament.
Bolivar entered postseason play as the top seed in the OMC tournament on April 28. After a first round bye, the Liberators faced challenges from both the weather and opponents in later rounds. Weather disruptions moved matches indoors at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield where the Liberators dispatched a Wildcat team from Logan Rogersville with a 5-0 win to make the championship final. Branson provided a tight contest for the title, taking a 2-1 lead after doubles.
“They are solid and have gotten better as the year has progressed,” said Head Coach Nathan Rothdiener regarding Branson. “Their number one is one of the best in the area and he makes their team go.”
Despite Branson’s talent at the top, Bolivar’s deep roster overpowered the Pirates and helped secure the 5-4 conference championship win for the Liberators. The three doubles team of Peyton Cole and Ben Berry picked up a big 8-6 win after the ones and twos fell in close matches. The Liberators finished for the OMC title with singles wins down the ladder in spots three, four, five and six.
On the heels of the OMC win, Bolivar moved into district play, hosting the Class 1 District 7 individual tournament on April 30.
“We are fortunate to host this almost every year due to our beautiful facilities,” said Rothdiener. “Our district is made up of nine schools from Carl Junction all the way up to St. Michael’s in Kansas City. It is a large district with opponents that we don’t see in the regular season.”
Individual district tournament play includes two singles and two doubles entries from each school for an 18-team bracket on both sides with the top two finishers in each advancing to state. The Liberators landed both doubles entries in the championship match and one singles entry in the finals, securing state bids for five of six individual players. Bolivar advanced both doubles teams to state after the top seed team of Colton Ingold and Mac Rich took the title with the third seed team of Eli Bryan and Ethan “Bob” Bailey coming in second.
Bolivar came one win away from sweeping the singles side as well after both of the Liberators’ singles entries, Cole and Berry, lasted into semifinal rounds. Playing five matches on the day, Cole fought his way into the championship match to earn a state bid while Berry battled into a third set tiebreak during semifinals, falling just short of joining his teammate in the title match.
“I'm awfully proud of those two guys,” said Rothdiener. “Ben played nine sets on the day and Peyton played ten sets. That's too much tennis and they were gassed. But they did everything they could to represent the program, school, and community well! For a school to get five of six in is a big deal and we almost got all six in!”
Building on the success in individual districts, the Liberators moved on to team districts. After a first round forfeit win, Bolivar clinched the district team title with two 5-0 wins on back-to-back nights over Carl Junction on May 6 and Summit Christian Academy on May 7. Another 5-0 win in state quarterfinals over Springfield Catholic on May 11 gave the Liberators their sixth straight team Final Four berth.
In the final two weeks of the season, Bolivar continued to collect wins and hardware. The Liberators saw both state qualifying doubles teams on the podium after two days on the court at the individual state tournament May 14 and 15. Juniors Ingold and Rich finished in third while the senior-sophomore duo of Bailey and Bryan took sixth as the team turned their attention toward a return to the Final Four the following week.
In a repeat of the 2025 season finale, the undefeated Liberators drew an unfortunate semifinal round match against the defending state champions from Clayton on May 21 at Cooper Tennis Complex. Clayton took the wins in doubles one and two but Cole and Berry earned a hard fought win at doubles three to give the Liberators some momentum going into singles. Bolivar battled in singles, falling in competitive matches at one and two before Clayton closed out the win in singles four. When the match ended, Bryan held a one set lead and was even in the second set at singles three while the remaining Liberators were fighting for second set comebacks.
“We played them tough,” said Rothdiener. “The score doesn’t indicate how close the match really was!”
Taking their first loss of the season, the Liberators recovered and focused on the third place finals match on May 22. Rainy weather moved the contest indoors at Cooper but it didn’t hinder the Liberators who finished the season third in state with a commanding 5-0 win over North County and 19-1 season record.
“What an incredible year,” said Rothdiener. “I told the guys that a lot of people were writing them off at the start of the season because of how many starters we graduated last year. But nobody counted on how hard these guys worked in the off season! I’m awfully proud of these guys and the effort they have put into this season. They left it all on the court and got a little better everyday!”
The 2026 Final Four tournament marks the final match for Liberator senior Ethan “Bob” Bailey who graduates with team state third place finishes in 2025 and 2026 along with a 2026 individual state top eight finish in doubles.
With five of six starters set to return next year and a ladder of others looking to compete, Rothdiener is confident his Liberators will continue to put in the work and grow as a team.
“These guys love the game and they love each other,” said Rothdiener. “They compete hard in practice and push each other to get better. Our depth is our strength and now we are deeper than we’ve ever been and we have experience. This trip made these guys hungry for more and this summer they will be out at the courts getting ready for next season!”
