Free State senior Rodolfo Gauto Mariotti finished fifth on Saturday at the Class 6A state tournament at Wichita.

Wichita ? Four deep turned out to be pretty strong for the Free State High boys tennis team, which took fifth place at the Class 6A state tournament on Saturday.

Led by senior exchange student Rodolfo Gauto Mariotti’s fifth-place individual showing, the Firebirds finished fifth in the team standings with 19 points, just two points away from bringing home a third-place trophy.

“We were so close,” FSHS coach John Richey said.

After overcoming a hard-fought quarterfinal loss to begin the day, Gauto Mariotti fought through the consolation bracket and landed in the fifth-place match. On the other side of the net was none other than FSHS teammate — and roommate — junior Michael Swank.

The two faced each other a week ago in the regional championship match in Olathe, with Swank outlasting Gauto Mariotti in three sets. This time, Gauto Mariotti got revenge, upending his best friend, 9-7, in a closely contested, pro-set match.

The loss dropped Swank to sixth place in the singles bracket, one spot better than his finish last season.

Free State’s doubles team of Blaine Kaehr and Dravid Joseph also played to the end on Saturday, winning their last match to take home ninth place.