photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State's Lawrence Dao hits the ball in a No. 2 singles match at Sports Pavilion Lawrence on Monday, April 7, 2025.

Lawrence and Free State hosted a boys tennis quad against Shawnee Mission Northwest and Olathe East at Sports Pavilion Lawrence on Monday. The Firebirds beat all three teams, while the Lions went 1-1-1.

The Lions started with Olathe East and went 2-2 in four matches. Jun Brewer won the No. 1 singles match 8-2, and Jack Bauch won the No. 2 singles match 8-5. The two losses for the Lions came in the doubles matches. Asher Sikes and Josh Lavin in the No. 1 doubles match lost 8-4, and Xavier Klish and Julian Bricker lost 8-6 in the No. 2 doubles match.

“We did not play quite up to our capabilities today,” Lawrence coach Chris Marshall said. “I don’t know if it was the fact that we didn’t get a practice Monday, and we got the weekend off. Normally, we are a little more focused than that.”

Brewer, the brightest spot for the Lions, won all three matches and helped his positional standings for regionals.

Free State won both its singles matches 8-0 against Shawnee Mission Northwest. Drew Harrison won in the No. 1 singles match, and Lawrence Dao won in the No. 2 match. The No. 1 doubles team of Jacob Wang and Connor Coons won 8-1, with the No. 2 doubles team of Kiefer Bullock and Galeno Wills winning 8-5.

Harrison, Coons and Bullock all played in 15 or more matches last season, while the rest of the team is playing varsity for the first time. Free State coach Aaron Clark said the team is young this year but has good leadership from its few upperclassmen. The older players can project confidence that helps the newer players understand the mentality it takes to compete at the varsity level.

“It’s a lot of learning and adjusting as they settle into the season,” Clark said. “It’s still early, but there’s a lot of growth from our event last week. They’re doing a great job.”

The Lions swept Shawnee Mission Northwest in the second round. Brewer won 8-1, and Bauch won 8-2 in the singles matches. Lavin and Sikes won 8-3, and a No. 2 team of Klish and Cohen LaDuke won 8-5.

Against Olathe West, Brewer won 8-1, and Dao won 8-3 in the singles matches. Wang and Coons lost 8-6 in the No. 1 doubles match, but the No. 2 team of Bullock and Wills won 8-7.

For the final round, the Firebirds and the Lions faced off, with the Firebirds winning three of the matches. Brewer beat Harrison 8-6, and Dao beat Bauch in the No. 2 singles match. The Firebirds finished with two wins in the doubles matches, 8-6.

Clark has been pleased with how the Firebirds have looked so far. At the start of the season, he wasn’t sure how it would look on the court, but the early returns have been positive.

“I knew they were good players, but sometimes when you get them on the court, you have to see how people compete,” Clark said. “For the most part, this early in the season, they’ve started to meet the bar. Starting out, they’ve done great.”

For Lawrence, Marshall wants the team to have a little more confidence.

“It’s about being confident, it’s about getting that first serve in, it’s about being efficient,” Marshall said. “In doubles, it’s about when you have the opportunity to hit the ball for a winner, you hit it for the winner instead of playing it safe and letting your opponent be in control. The big concept is we want to drive the bus without wrecking it.”

The Lions will be at Kossover Tennis Center in Topeka on Wednesday against Seaman, Topeka West and Washburn Rural. The Firebirds are hosting a quad on Tuesday at Free State against Blue Valley West, Gardner Edgerton and Mill Valley.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Xavier Klish returns the ball in a tennis quad at Sports Pavilion Lawrence on Monday, April 7, 2025.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State’s Drew Harrison finishes a serve in a match against Lawrence’s Jun Brewer at Sports Pavilion Lawrence on Monday, April 7, 2025.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence No. 2 singles player Jack Bauch hits the ball in a tennis quad at Sports Pavilion Lawrence on Monday, April 7, 2025.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Galeno Wills, right, and Kiefer Bullock watch the tennis ball in a tennis quad at Sports Pavilion Lawrence on Monday, April 7, 2025.