Free State High's Cameron Casady returns a shot against Lawrence High's Taylor Seratte in a Class 6A regional. Casady won, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, Friday at the Lawrence Tennis Center.

Lawrence High's Taylor Seratte returns against Free State's Cameron Casady. Casady won, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, in the Class 6A regional Friday at the Lawrence Tennis Center.

Free State's Blaine Kaehr returns a shot against Olathe South during a doubles match in a Class 6A regional.

Reaching the Class 6A regional tennis finals and advancing to the state tournament would satisfy most freshmen, but Free State’s Michael Swank is not a typical ninth grader.

“Every time you go in, you’ve got to think that you’re going to win it,” said Swank, who has competed in tennis since the age of 10. “Never settle for anything but first.”

Although Olathe Northwest’s J.T. Christian, the Oakley-sunglasses-wearing defending state champion, defeated Swank, 6-4, 6-2, Swank helped the Firebirds finish in second place – two points behind Olathe East – Friday during the regional at Lawrence High’s Lawrence Tennis Center.

The Free State doubles team of Jack Hull and Charlie Moffett also reached the finals. That duo along with Swank qualified for state.

“It was definitely a good day,” Free State coach Jon Renberger said. “Hopefully it helps us get momentum into state.”

The 6-foot-6 Swank, the No. 2 singles seed in the regional, effectively employed his serve and forehand to breeze through the first two rounds without losing a game.

“He’s very competitive,” Renberger said. “He believes he’s going to win every match. It doesn’t matter who his opponent is, what seed he is. He believes he can beat anybody.”

Hull and Moffett, the No. 2 doubles seed, endured a grueling, three-set, third-round match to advance to the finals, and it showed: They lost, 6-2, 6-2.

“I didn’t realize how I tired I was until I got on the court,” Hull said.

The two, who participated in state last year, relied on aggressive lob shots and an I-formation, which capitalizes on the rapport they have developed. When Moffett serves, Hull stays in the middle and give his partner a signal on which direction he will go.

“Teams have been having a lot of trouble with that,” Hull said. “Because (Moffett) is good at placing his serve, he can put it down the ‘T’ or out wide.”

No one from Lawrence High, the host school, advanced to the second round. The Lions accumulated zero points, tying Leavenworth and Olathe South for sixth place.

“They’re disappointed : They’re down, but they’re highly motivated for next year,” LHS coach Steve Hudson said. “The silver lining is, six of our top seven will be returning for next year.”

LHS sophomore Taylor Seratte, though, did participate in a thrilling first-round match against Free State’s Cameron Casady, Friday’s only contest between the city schools.

“I wanted to beat him bad,” Seratte said. “When we had our duel together here, Charlie Moffet destroyed me. So I kind of wanted some revenge on Free State.”

But the Firebirds prevailed. Casady, a senior and the No. 8 seed, won, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, during the only first-round match to go three sets.

“Taylor made a quite ruckus. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to win,” Hudson said. “He’s a battler, and he fought hard.”

While the Lions look ahead to next year, the Firebirds will vie for an impressive showing at this year’s state tournament, which begins Friday in Topeka. Swank will play on that stage for the first time, and Hull and Moffett want to improve on last year’s showing.

“Last year we didn’t place,” Hull said. “Our goal this year is to place in the top 10.”