Lions’ Abromeit, FSHS duo advance at state tennis

photo by: Mike Yoder

Lawrence High School senior Elliott Abromeit competes at the Class 6A state tournament at the Harmon Park Tennis Complex in Prairie Village Friday.

Prairie Village — Lawrence High senior Elliott Abromeit remembers how nervous he was before his first match at the Class 6A boys tennis state tournament last season.

On Friday, Abromeit was loose and in attack mode, winning his first two matches in singles to advance to the state quarterfinals at Harmon Park, guaranteeing he will finish in the top 12 and receive a medal. Free State junior Ian Pultz-Earle and sophomore Erik Czapinski advanced to the state quarterfinals in doubles.

The tournament was suspended because of rain during the afternoon and will continue at 8 a.m. today.

The only time Abromeit tightened up Friday was during the second set of his first match against Junction City senior Angeleau Scott. He wasn’t hitting his usual shots and couldn’t find consistency with his serve against the ultra-athletic Scott.

Instead of letting the set get away from him, Abromeit won the tiebreaker and the match, 6-1, 7-6 (5).

Abromeit won his second match in straight sets, beating Dodge City junior Brett Groth, 6-2, 6-2.

“He was probably one of the more athletic players that I’ve ever seen,” Abromeit said. “I got a little afraid during the wait and stuff, and I tightened up during the second set. But I had enough to pull it out. He was a really good player.”

Abromeit’s prize for advancing into the quarterfinals is a matchup against top-seeded Max Kurzban, who won a 5A state title last season. The Blue Valley West junior owns a 20-0 record this year.

“I’ll tell you, the nerves are all gone now,” Abromeit said. “I play Kurzban next, so you really can’t be nervous. I’ve got nothing to lose now. The hard part is over. Now it’s just having fun and appreciating what I have.”

LHS coach Chris Marshall added: “We played a similar player in Thompson Tong at regionals, and it was a fun match. It was some of the best tennis Elliott has played. Now, those great players are very difficult to beat, but it’s a fun match to play. It should be a lot of big hits, and Elliott is going to go for it, so we’ll see what happens.”

Pultz-Earle and Czapinski had to sit around about two hours before stepping on the court because of a first-round bye.

Free State coach Keith Pipkin said he was a little worried about how they would respond to the long break, but they were sharp, cruising to a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Washburn Rural’s Devin Wright and Jordan Lind.

“You could tell that the other team was warmed up, but we tried to be pretty ready,” Pultz-Earle said. “We’ve been kind of moving around and tried to be mentally ready to get after it as soon as we got out on the court.”

Pultz-Earle fought through back pain throughout the week leading to state, but it didn’t show on the court. His serve was dominant, smashing a few aces, including one ace on his second serve.

After watching Washburn Rural break a serve, Czapinski flipped the momentum with a few slams at the net. The duo will face the top-seeded doubles team in the quarterfinals, Blue Valley North seniors Brady Flanagan and Connor Garrett, who own a 22-4 record.

“Honestly, my big worry was that they were going to try to rush a little bit and try to get that match in before the rain started,” Pipkin said. “I kept trying to remind them, ‘One point at a time, guys. One point at a time. Don’t think a set ahead.’ And they made it happen.”

Free State juniors Seamus Ryan and Jonah Pester lost their first match in doubles, falling 6-1, 6-0 against Blue Valley’s Min Moon and Tyler Elmendorf.

Ryan and Pester were leading 3-2 against Derby’s Gabe Smith and Ryan Palmer before rain stopped the match.

In singles, Free State freshman Sawyer Nickel lost in straight sets against Washburn Rural’s Max Cassidy in the first round, 6-2, 6-2.

Singles

Elliott Abromeit, LHS: def. Angeleau Scott, JC, 6-1, 7-6 (5); def. Brett Groth, DC, 6-2, 6-2.

Sawyer Nickel, FS: lost to Max Cassidy, WR, 6-2, 6-2.

Doubles

Ian Pultz-Earle/Erik Czapinski, FS: def. Devin Wright/Jordan Lind, WR, 6-1, 6-3.

Jonah Pester/Seamus Ryan, FS: lost to Min Moon/Tyler Elmendorf, BV, 6-1, 6-0.