Manhattan ? After having watched the movie Thursday night, Lawrence High’s Scott Elwell might have thought Friday he was stuck in “The Matrix.”

It sure seemed that way for Elwell, an LHS senior who was unstoppable against two players from Wichita during the first day of the Class 6A state tennis tournament at Kansas State, but struggled mightily against a Kansas City-area opponent.

Elwell’s 6-2, 6-1 setback to Shawnee Mission Northwest’s Brett Binkley not only ended Elwell’s dream of a state singles championship, but also reinforced the Kansas City area’s stranglehold on Class 6A tennis.

Seven of today’s eight semifinalists are from the Shawnee Mission East regional.

“I got to get away from those guys,” a disappointed Elwell joked about having to face Binkley, last year’s 6A champ. “It’s pretty frustrating and definitely hard to find motivation for the next match.

“But I worked through it.”

He did: Elwell blitzed Wichita Northwest’s Ryan Reed, who had a 20-4 record, by a score of 9-2 with the help of a powerful serve and by spraying ground strokes that continuously kept the Grizzlies’ senior off-balance.

“It was my goal to make finals, but it would be quite an accomplishment to finish at least fifth for all four years,” Elwell said.

Elwell, an Iowa signee, finished fifth as a freshman, fourth as a sophomore and fifth again last season.

Lawrence High senior Scott Elwell returns a shot against Wichita Heights' David Hembree. Elwell defeated Hembree, 6-1, 6-0, in the first round of the Class 6A state tennis tournament Friday in Manhattan.

“I think he’s definitely the top-three, -four, or -five player in the state,” LHS coach Dick Wedel said.

As for having to face Binkley in the second round, Wedel said, “We knew it was coming. I’m not surprised by the KC-area schools’ dominant play.

“I thought he was prepared. It’s just that Binkley played so well. The last time they played, Elwell took the first set before letting him steal it away. Today Binkley got ahead and didn’t let him back at all,” Wedel said.

That’s how Elwell easily won his first match against Wichita Heights’ David Hembree, 6-1, 6-0.

“I thought things were going pretty good there early,” said Elwell, who will play Topeka Washburn Rural’s Drew Hanson at 9 this morning. “But Binkley was playing really well.

“This is by far the hardest year as far as competition in my career. A lot of people shied away from it and played doubles, but I’m glad I have a chance to keep playing today.”

While Elwell was still standing, Free State’s first singles state qualifier, Ben Cropp, succumbed in his first two matches, losing 6-3, 6-0 to Shawn Alkhatib and to Reed, 9-5.

Free State seniors Eyad Safadi, left, and Matt Schwabauer talk between points during the duo's doubles match. The Firebirds advanced Friday to today's consolation round of the state tennis tournament at the Kansas State tennis courts in Manhattan.

The Firebirds’ doubles team — seniors Eyad Safadi and Matt Schwabauer — also lost twice Friday, but did win one match — securing them at least another one today.

“I think they had a really good day,” Free State coach Jon Renberger said. “They won the most games off the No. 1 seed, had a huge win against hometown favorite Manhattan, and then lost to the No. 3 seed.

“The losses are tough, but that win was really huge.”

After falling to a top-seeded Shawnee Mission East team of Ryan Cope and Nolan Lem, 6-3, 6-4, the Firebirds beat Manhattan’s Andrew Rosander and Drew Bietau, 9-3.

In their final match of the day, Maize’s Brandon Hoskins and Joe Mayans downed the Free State duo, 9-4.

“We can still win out for ninth,” Schwabauer said.

The Firebirds will play Shawnee Mission Northwest’s Adam Kramers and Peter Varnum, whom they defeated at the Sunflower League meet.

“We can’t take anything for granted,” Schwabauer said, “but if we play well we definitely can win and reach our goal of a top-10 finish.”