Free State doubles players Ali Dodd, left, and Keegan VanPelt high five after a point against Olathe Northwest's Mallory Brown and Kristen Knipp on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017 at Free State High School.

The only pairing that could take more than a single game from the Free State duo of Ali Dodd and Keegan VanPelt was a rather familiar one.

“It’s a win-win situation in my mind,” said Free State coach Aaron Clark following a doubles finale that saw Dodd and VanPelt defeat a pair of their teammates. “Can’t really go wrong there.”

In the end, the two were just about unstoppable.

Dodd, a senior, and VanPelt, a freshman, rolled through their four matches in the Class 6A regional on Saturday at College Boulevard Activity Center, only losing four total games en route to a first-place performance.

The two also powered Free State to a first-place finish as a team, leading the pack by a healthy margin with 18 points on the day. Olathe South (10 points) came in second.

“Girls are talented. They showed up talented,” Clark said. “It was just a matter of them playing their best tennis, and I think everyone played their best tennis.”

By the time the finale rolled around, that statement was just about solidified.

Kate Piper was sharp in singles play, dominating her first opponent and taking down a higher seed in Naima Patel (ON) in the second round to qualify for state. In the meantime, Gabby Gorman and Anna Peard, rolled through their first doubles opponent and qualified without ever dropping more than three games in a single set.

The lone non-qualifier for Free State was Andie Veeder, but even she had her moments, ousting Sydney Moore (ONW), 6-3, 6-2, in the first round before bowing out to two higher seeds. And there was plenty more to come from the Firebirds, as Piper ended up taking fourth place while Gorman and Peard managed a 6-1, 6-3 win over Olathe East to join their Free State cohorts in the championship game.

“I think it’s great to know that our team did that well,” Dodd said. “We all work really hard. I’m just super proud of all of us.”

Ultimately, it was Dodd and VanPelt who came out on top, though you wouldn’t have known it by the post-match reactions.

After tallying the winning point, the senior-freshman duo joined with their “opponents” in a group hug, eventually jumping and down in celebration as two of the players began to chant the word “state” over and over.

“It’s crazy,” VanPelt said. “But it’s really fun.”

Now comes the next step.

VanPelt, who noted Dodd’s best advice to her is to simply “stay calm,” will be making her first trip to state, but such will not be the case for Dodd, who attended the event last year armed with the goal of cracking the top eight.

“I definitely want to improve my record from last year,” Dodd said. “So top six, maybe even top four.”

Her coach, on the other hand, didn’t put any such qualifiers on what he thinks she can accomplish. The 6A state tournament begins at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Wichita’s Riverside Complex.

“They have a chance to go as far as they’re prepared to go,” Clark said. “They’ve got a great opportunity to do something special at state. And so do Gabby and Anna.”

LHS season ends

Despite winning a pair of matches, the LHS tennis season came to an end as neither the grouping of Mia Waters and Chloe Thornton nor Chisato Kimura in singles play were able to win a second match.

After winning her opener over Olathe East’s Julia Brincks, Kimura fell to top seeded Cady Lynn (OS). She faced off against another higher seed for a chance to go to state but was unable to battle back after dropping the first set, despite forcing the second into a tiebreak.

Thornton and Waters also had a competitive showing, winning their opener and putting up a tough fight in their final match in the consolation bracket. However, they were ousted by the fifth-seeded Olathe Northwest duo of Mallory Brown and Kristen Knipp, ending their respective runs on the team as seniors.

“Looking back to where most of our girls were as freshmen, compared to where they are as seniors, they’ve all made huge growth,” coach Chris Marshall said of his senior class, which includes Kamura, Thornton, Waters and Megan Wisbey. “How tight they are. They care about each other. They enjoy practice. They stick together whether they win or lose. Just a good group of girls.

“It’s fun to see people like that.”

Class 6A regional

Saturday at College Boulevard Activity Center

Team scores: Free State 18, Olathe South 10, Olathe East 10, Shawnee Mission Northwest 8, Olathe Northwest 7, Olathe North 3, Lawrence 2, Gardner-Edgerton 0.

LHS results

Singles

Chisato Kimura, LHS, def. Julia Brincks, OE, 7-5, 6-4; lost to Cady Lynn, OS, 6-1, 6-0; lost to Naima Patel, ON, 6-0, 7-6 (2).

Bella Kirkwood, LHS, lost to Michaela Magee, OE, 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles

Chloe Thornton/Mia Waters, LHS, def. Alexis Headrick/Korah Calvin, GE, 7-6 (7), 6-2; lost to Ali Dodd/Keegan VanPelt, LFS, 6-0, 6-0; lost to Mallory Brown/Kristen Knipp, ONW, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.

Megan Wisbey/Caitlynn Kliem, LHS, lost to Kennedy Menke/Nicole Afaro, OS, 6-2, 6-2.

Free State results

Singles

Kate Piper (4th place, qualified for state), LFS, def. Jenna Mahoney, GE, 6-0, 6-2; def. Naima Patel, ON, 6-2, 2-6, (10-6); lost to Cady Lynn, OS, 6-1, 6-0; lost to Lillian Oliver, SMNW, 6-2, 6-1.

Andie Veeder, LFS, def. Sydney Moore, ONW, 6-3, 6-2; lost to Michaela Magee, OE, 6-1, 6-0; lost to Michaela Crowe, SMNW, 6-0, 6-4.

Doubles

Ali Dodd/Keegan VanPelt (1st place, qualified for state), LFS, def. Olivia Sloan/Mabel Anstine, SMNW, 6-0, 6-0; def. Chloe Thornton/Mia Waters, LHS, 6-0, 6-0; def. Kaylie Kappelmann/Nicky Hoffey, ONW, 6-1, 6-0; def. Gabby Gorman/Anna Peard, LFS, 6-2, 6-1.

Gabby Gorman/Anna Peard (2nd place, qualified for state), LFS, def. Kylee Brown/Elle Bui, ON, 6-1, 6-0; def. Katherine Strohm/Melissa Schmidt, SMNW, 6-1, 6-3; def. Megan Li/Hali Liu, OE, 6-1, 6-3, lost to Ali Dodd/Keegan VanPelt, LFS, 6-2, 6-1.