Barber, Smith earn 2A West Regional berths with MF7 tourney showing

Polk County’s Banks Barber and Jack Smith earned berths in the 2A West Regional with their performance Tuesday at the Mountain Foothills 7 Conference boys tennis tournament in Brevard.

Barber reached the championship match before falling to R-S Central’s Billy Mac Clement while Smith placed fourth. Those finishes mean both players qualify for the regional tourney, set for May 5-6 at Gardner-Webb University.

Barber, the second seed in the field, defeated Brevard’s Noah Winkler 10-1 and Patton’s Coley Welch 6-0, 6-1 to reach the final, where Clement scored a 6-0, 6-0 win.

Smith defeated R-S Central’s Nathan Millette 11-9 before falling 6-0, 6-0 to Clement in the semifinals. Smith then dropped a 6-2, 6-4 decision to Welch in the third-place match.