Free State High sure knows how to finish a tennis match.

Down 2-1 after the doubles portion of their dual against Lawrence High on Monday at Lawrence Tennis Center, the Firebirds won five of six singles matches to rally for 6-3 victory.

“We came out pretty flat in doubles and that was disappointing,” said FSHS coach Jon Renberger, whose squad improved 5-1-1 in duals this season and 3-0 all-time against the cross-town Lions. “Fortunately, they knocked off the rust and played well in singles.”

Free State won several tight matches along the way. Four of Free State’s six victories were by two games or fewer, including two decided by tiebreakers.

FSHS junior Ben Cropp, normally a doubles player, won the No. 2 singles match over Jon Weygint, 8-6.

“It was pretty close,” Cropp said. “We’d go back forth.”

Cropp said the Firebirds had no trouble getting up for playing the Lions.

“Emotions are high,” he said. “Sometimes it gets a little rough, but it’s always fun.”

Other singles winners for Free State were Matt Schwabauer, Eyad Safadi, Eric Sheu and Rishi Surana.

Sheu’s 8-2 decision over Bryan Allen at No. 5 singles clinched the win for Free State.

“I would rather not have known that before that match,” said Sheu, unaware that his match guaranteed Free State a victory. “I was in control of my singles match, but my doubles match was shaky.”

Free State’s lone doubles win came at No. 3. Firebirds Alan Martinez and Surana outlasted Bryan Allen and Brian Dobski in a 9-8 (12-10) thriller.

For the second consecutive year against Free State, Scott Elwell accounted for the Lions’ lone win in singles. Elwell rolled to an 8-1 decision over Martinez in No. 1 singles.

Elwell dropped the second game and was down 40-15 in the third game before taking control. Elwell, now 8-1, punished Martinez’s second serve for several points.

“I wasn’t picking up on it at the beginning of the match, but toward the end I started to notice he was hitting it pretty short, so it was a good opportunity to come up with the forehand and attack,” Elwell said of capitalizing on the second serves.

Before playing singles, Elwell teamed with Weygint to win No. 1 doubles, 8-4. Rambau and Jeff Cravens won No. 2 doubles, 8-4.

“The whole team gets pumped up every year for this dual,” Elwell said.

LHS coach Dick Wedel was pleased with his team’s doubles play.

“We’ve been working a lot on doubles,” he said. “We should win some doubles matches. I think the guys lost focus in singles.”

Free State’s victory was reminiscent of the Firebirds’ 5-4 decision over LHS two years ago, when Free State lost all three doubles matches and the No. 1 singles match. The Firebirds crushed LHS, 8-1, last year.

“I’d rather have it close than lopsided,” Wedel said.