Topeka ? Lawrence High’s Anna Birt and Yelena Birt placed eighth, and Free State’s Taylor Hawkins and Rachel Walters took 12th in doubles Saturday at the Class 6A girls state tennis tournament.

The Birt sisters defeated Topeka Washburn Rural, 9-7, and lost to Shawnee Mission East, 9-3, and to Topeka High, 9-4, on Saturday.

“I thought we played very good tennis,” LHS coach Chris Marshall said. “We had an opportunity to do a little better, but that’s part of the game. Overall, I’m very pleased.

“As a whole, it was a very good tournament. I thought we were a top-10 team. Now that we’ve had a little taste, hopefully we can get some more players there in the future.”

Hawkins and Walters lost three matches on Saturday, falling to Blue Valley North, 9-0, Derby, 9-8 (11-9), and Olathe South, 9-5.

“All year long our goal was to make it to the second day of state, and with that in mind we had an incredibly successful season,” Free State coach Oather Strawderman said. “Taylor and Rachel topped off an amazing season that included first place at the Emporia tournament, third at regionals and fourth place at league. While I wish they had some of the close games today to do over, I couldn’t be prouder of the fight they showed, not just today, but all season.”

Both teams earned medals for their play at state.