The Lawrence Tennis Association’s junior tennis teams took to the courts for the Heart of America junior team tennis tournament Saturday at Blue Valley West High in Overland Park.

The junior tennis league went into the day’s action with two under-14 teams and an under-18 team.

The U14 teams faired well with one team coming within one point of taking first place against Blue Valley and earning a trip to sectionals.

The second U14 team fell to Blue Valley by two points.

The U18 team managed to make some noise in their bracket but couldn’t come home with any hardware.

Despite that setback the end-of-season tournament proved to be a good experience for the young team.

“I can already see a big improvement in the players,” said director of junior league tennis for the Lawrence Tennis Association. “They are all valuable players and really played well as a team.”

One improvement came in the beginners boys doubles match.

Lawrence players Randy Walter and Ben Lawson battled Blue Valley to a tie-breaker victory, 10-8.

“The team learned about tie-breakers during the tournament,” Elliott said. “It is hard to teach the rules of tennis during lessons, but they sure learn fast when a match is on the line.”