Free State's Ali Dodd, left, and Andrea Chen high-five after winning a point against Garden City during a doubles match at the state girls tennis tournament Friday in Topeka.

Topeka ? It wasn’t the first time at the Class 6A girls tennis state tournament for Free State junior Ali Dodd and senior Andrea Chen. However, it was their first time qualifying together as a doubles team.

The duo leaned on their past experiences Friday at the Topeka Kossover-Tennis Center, disposing of Lauren Robben and Olivia Belin, of Manhattan, 6-1, 6-0, and Megan Powers and Sally Dinkel, of Garden City, by the same score to clinch a spot in the second day of the tournament.

“We just came out and we knew what we had to do,” Dodd said. “We competed hard, and I’m super proud with the way we played in all of our matches today.”

Dodd and Chen’s momentum was quickly halted against Blue Valley North’s Evelyn Chang and Karen Yan in a 6-0, 6-0 loss. By advancing to the state quarterfinals, Dodd and Chen secured a medal and top-12 finish.

“I saw their willingness and desire to win,” Free State interim coach Michael Trujillo said. “It’s easy in this situation to get consumed by the moment and lose that competitive edge. But they stayed in it.”

Free State’s doubles team of sophomore Gabby Gorman and freshman Anna Peard, along with sophomore singles player Kate Piper, came up short of qualifying for the second day of the tournament.

Piper and the second doubles team all started with a 2-1 record Friday, but lost trying to advance to the consolation quarterfinals. Piper lost to Derby senior Ashley Sherrow, 9-5, to end her season with a 20-13 record in singles.

“She was playing some of the smartest tennis she’s played all year,” Trujillo said. “Unfortunately, she was unable to pull it out against Derby.”

In their elimination match, Gorman and Peard built up a 7-5 lead over Olathe East’s Daya Chimakadze and Elise Byers. However, East rattled off the last four games to win the match, 9-7, and end Gorman and Peard’s season with a 16-13 record in doubles.

“I hope this gets them excited and hungry to go out and play more and compete more in the offseason,” Trujillo said. “So when they come back next season, they’re more prepared.”

Free State will get another shot at Chimakadze and Byers, as Dodd and Chen are slated to play them in their first match when play resumes at 9:00 a.m today.

“We want to do well in the first match to get some revenge for our No. 2 doubles team,” Chen said. “But to make it into the top-eight is the biggest goal for us. Neither one of us has done that before.”

Trujillo, who said he’s watched and scouted every doubles team remaining in the tournament, has little doubt his doubles team can accomplish that goal, and perhaps even more.

“If Ali and Andrea are on,” Trujillo said, “they can beat any of them.”

Class 6A state tournament

Friday at Kossover Center

FSHS Results

Singles

Kate Piper def. Leah Stein, DC, 6-3, 6-4, def. by Sarah Wilcox, SME, 6-0, 6-0, def. Ally McKenzie, JC, 9-6, def. by Ashley Sherrow, Derby, 9-5

Doubles

Andrea Chen/Ali Dodd def. Robben/Belin, Man, 6-1, 6-0, def. Powers/Dinkel, GC, 6-1, 6-0, def. by Chang/Yan, BVN, 6-0, 6-0

Gabby Gorman/Anna Peard def. Johnson/Steward, WE, 6-4, 6-2, def. by Freirich/McLiney, SME, 6-0, 6-1, def. Foster/Ollenberger, Hutch, 9-3, def. by Chimakadze/Byers, OE, 9-7