Kansas City, Mo ? Give Emily Wang credit. She knows her game.

The 2003 Free State High graduate knew entering Thursday’s third-place match of the United States Tennis Assn. Missouri Valley Seg. II Sweet 16 qualifying at the Plaza Tennis Courts that consistency was the key to winning.

Wang stayed true to plan, beating Callan Smith of St. Joseph, Mo., 6-1, 6-4, and qualifying for August’s Super Nationals in San Jose, Calif.

“I think I was just more consistent,” she said. “I just needed to move her around because she tends to make more mistakes the longer the points wear on.”

Wang, a two-time Kansas State High School Activities Assn. Class 6A state champ and University of Illinois signee, had played Smith half a dozen times in various summer tournaments, which accounted for her familiarity with Smith’s style.

Then again, that goes for just about everyone who plays in the Missouri Valley tournaments, which cover Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

“When you get to this point, everybody knows everybody else,” Wang said. “And usually how they’ve done in tournaments.”

Free State High graduate Emily Wang hits a return during the third-place match at the United States Tennis Assn. Missouri Valley Seg. II Sweet 16. Wang won Thursday in Kansas City, Mo.

Wang, ranked second among 18-year-old Missouri Valley players, will play in about five more tournaments before nationals.

Another 2003 grad, Lawrence High’s Scott Elwell, placed 11th in a frustrating finish.

Elwell, ranked ninth among 18-year-olds, lost to St. Louis’ Joseph Kane, 6-3, 6-3, Thursday morning. The winner advanced to the ninth-place match, but that would have been tough for Elwell considering he didn’t have a decent racquet.

Strings had broken on two different racquets earlier this week and another had gone from being cracked to broken, forcing him to play with a cracked racquet he rarely uses.

“I don’t even like to practice with that racquet,” Elwell said. “I feel like I never hit the ball right with it.”

Elwell, headed to Iowa this fall after placing fifth in the KSHSAA state tournament three of the last four years, wasn’t happy with how he played — he wanted to improve upon last year’s 10th-place finish.

“Relatively speaking, I was happier last year where I finished because of where my game was,” he said. “This year, I thought I was playing better, so I thought I would place higher.”