Free State's junior Nick Pellet, returns a volley in his #2 singles match against Ilan Rosen on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 during the Lawrence High tennis invitational.

Fresh off a six-day band trip to Disney World, Free State High junior Andrew Craig wasn’t expecting to play his best tennis at Wednesday’s seven-team Lawrence High Invitational.

It certainly didn’t help that he drew Shawnee Mission East senior Ross Guignon in the second round of the No. 1 singles bracket. Last season, Guignon finished second in 6A state singles.

Craig struggled with ground strokes in his 8-2 loss to Guignon, but still felt he gained something from playing such a tough opponent.

“It just feels good just to be able to go out and be able to compete with him,” Craig said. “The way he hit the ball, you can learn some things from that.”

With 23 points, Free State finished in a tie for third place. LHS was fifth with 20. Blue Valley West (38 points) edged SM East (34) for first.

Craig won his first match against Leavenworth’s Patrick Smith, 8-1, but lost the match with Guignon and his next match to Shawnee Mission South’s Kevin Kochersperger, 8-4, to finish in fourth.

Free State coach Oather Strawderman said he understood that Craig needed to get back in the flow of the season to perform well.

“That third match is a match he’s going to win if he’s not rusty like he was today,” Strawderman said.

As for the match with Guignon?

“Well, you’re looking at the top of the class in the state right there,” Strawderman said.

The Firebirds’ No. 1 doubles team, Chris Helt and Patrick Carttar, finished third, knocking off a doubles team from South, 8-4, in the third-place match.

The Lions, coming off a victory at the 10-team Topeka West Invitational on Tuesday, simply didn’t have fresh enough legs to play their best tennis.

Freshman Thomas Irick won six matches Tuesday, but struggled against tougher competition on Wednesday. He entered the No. 1 singles bracket as a sixth seed and finished seventh.

LHS coach Chris Marshall said he thought Irick was a little too stiff and sore to play well.

“And this tournament has some of the best tennis you’ll see around,” Marshall said.

The Lions’ No. 1 doubles team of Connor Schmidt and Matt Grom finished fifth place, winning two games in the backdraw.

The duo had to earn it, falling behind, 6-2, in their final match against Olathe Northwest’s Karl Gottschalk and Dom Fambino before storming back to win, 8-7 (7-3).

Lawrence High will play at Topeka Seaman on Tuesday. The Firebirds will play host to perennial power Washburn Rural in a dual today, rescheduled from Friday.

Lawrence High Invitational

Team Scores: Blue Valley West 38, Shawnee Mission East 34, Free State and Shawnee Mission South 23, Lawrence High 20, Olathe Northwest 16, Leavenworth 11.

No. 1 Singles: 4) Andrew Craig, FSHS, 1-2. 7) Thomas Irick, LHS, 1-2.

No. 1 Doubles: 3) Chris Helt and Patrick Carttar, FSHS, 2-1. 5) Connor Schmidt and Matt Groh, LHS, 2-1.

No. 2 Singles: 3) Ilan Rosen, LHS, 2-1. 5) Richard Lu, FSHS, 2-1. 7) Nick Pellet, FSHS, 1-2.

No. 2 Doubles: 3) Jack Hearnen and Luke Cortese, FSHS, 2-1. 5) Eric Long and Pace Leggins, LHS, 2-1. 8) Logan Strout and Matt Mikel, LHS, 0-3.