Senior Taylor Scarff and junior Mac Evans (above) were within a set of reaching the state tournament, but the Owls duo were edged in the district semifinal. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

HANNIBAL -- For the first time since 2002, the season ended for the Marshall boys' tennis team short of the playoffs.

The Owls were looking for their sixth straight post-season berth, but finished fifth and out of the running during the Class 1, District 4 Tournament at Hannibal -- which began Saturday and ended Monday due to rain.

Further, Marshall was unable to qualify any entries for the MSHSAA Championships for the first time in six years. The doubles team of senior Taylor Scarff and junior Mac Evans came the closest, finishing fourth. The medal match was suspended Saturday, with the Owls trailing Hannibal's Andrew Oullette and Kyle Bowman, 5-1, and MHS head coach Susan Carney saw no reason to return two days later since it wouldn't have a bearing on the final team standings.

Scarff and Evans won their first two matches before a semifinal meeting against the Hannibal duo of Chris Hassien and Ethan Mobley, which they had beaten 11-9 in an April 28 dual at Columbia. Marshall won the first set, 6-4, but then dropped a second-set tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-1), before a 6-3 loss in the rubber game -- thus denying the Owls a spot at state.

Sophomores John Van and Ethan Murphy won their opener against the Missouri Military Academy, but were eliminated in the second round by the Pirates' Oullette and Bowman.

Both of Marshall's singles entries received first-round byes, but were beaten their first time on the court. Junior Max Bildstein fell to Hannibal's Eli Jackson, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, while senior Ross Crawford dropped a 6-0, 6-1 decision to Jon Gooch of Kirksville.

With a lock on both spots in the singles finals, Fulton won the team title and will host School of the Osage today in the MSHSAA Team Districts. Kirksville will play at second-place Hannibal.

The Owls finished with a 9-8 record in dual matches, including 2-3 in the NCMC. Scarff and Evans led the team with seven doubles wins, while Crawford's 16-6 record was the best in singles.