photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State No. 1 doubles duo of Jacob Wang, right and Connor Coons tap rackets after a point during the boys tennis tournament at Sports Pavilion Lawrence on Friday, April 25, 2025, in Lawrence.

Lawrence and Free State’s boys tennis teams competed in a home tennis tournament on Friday against eight teams at Free State and Sports Pavilion Lawrence for the final regular-season tournament of the season.

The Lions tied for fourth in the tournament, while the Firebirds tied for sixth. The tournament included many teams Lawrence and Free State will see next week in the Sunflower League meet, providing an opportunity to see where their players stack up against the competition.

“It’s a good measuring stick to see where we’re at a few weeks out and what we can do to make up some ground,” Free State coach Aaron Clark said. “Hopefully, the guys, even in the matches they lose, are learning something so they can make adjustments later in the season when it really counts.”

Lawrence’s Jun Brewer placed fifth among No. 1 singles players. He started with an 8-6 loss before winning 8-5 to reach the fifth-place match, winning 8-3. Asher Sikes recently moved from Lawrence’s No. 1 doubles team into the No. 2 singles slot, and he finished as the runner-up in the tournament. He started with an 8-4 and an 8-6 win to reach the championship match. He lost 8-1 to Shawnee Mission East’s Trey Pendleton.

The Lions’ top doubles team has changed since the start of the year, with Josh Lavin now working with Jack Bauch. The duo placed fourth, starting with an 8-5 win before losing 8-7. In the third-place match, the duo lost 8-3.

“I think Josh and Jack can be a good team. They just need to learn to pick each other up because it seems like when one of us starts to lose it, the other one starts to lose it,” Lawrence coach Chris Marshall said. “All four of those teams are good teams, so it gives us a lot to look to to work on in these next few weeks.”

The No. 2 doubles team at Lawrence of Xavier Klish and Julian Bricker finished sixth in the tournament. After an 8-4 loss, they won 8-4 over Shawnee Mission West’s No. 2 doubles team to reach the fifth-place match. There, Klish and Bricker lost 8-5 to the Shawnee Mission South team.

“I saw some good things, and I saw a lot we can work up,” Marshall said. “The whole key is to focus on attacking, getting the ball on the rise, putting the ball where it’s supposed to be. Some of us are late on our split steps, so we’re going to be late on a lot of other things. We’re going flat on some of our volleys … It’s just some simple things we need to iron out.”

For Free State, Drew Harrison finished seventh among No. 1 singles players. He lost his first two matches 8-1 and 8-5 before winning the seventh-place match 8-3. Sean Rudy also finished seventh among No. 2 doubles players after he lost 8-0 twice before winning 8-2 in the final match.

Jacob Wang and Connor Coons continued to make up the No. 1 doubles team for Free State, and they finished sixth in the tournament. They lost 8-1 in the first round before winning by the same score in the second round. The fifth-place match went to tiebreakers, but the Firebird duo lost 8-7.

Kiefer Bullock and Galeno Wills placed third as Free State’s No. 2 doubles team. After an 8-3 win in the first round, they lost 8-4 to go to the third-place match. There, they won 8-5 over Shawnee Mission East’s second doubles team.

“There’s been some ups and downs, which is a good thing,” Clark said. “I wanted to see how the players would do as they get deeper in the season and play some of these tougher matches. I think they’re getting the type of experience to help them later in the season.”

The tennis postseason is rapidly approaching, with the Sunflower League meet on Thursday and the regional meet on Friday, May 9.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Galeno Wills moves up to hit the ball during the boys tennis tournament at Sports Pavilion Lawrence on Friday, April 25, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence No. 2 doubles player Julian Bricker returns a volley during the boys tennis tournament at Sports Pavilion Lawrence on Friday, April 25, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence No. 1 doubles player Jack Bauch finishes a serve during the boys tennis tournament at Sports Pavilion Lawrence on Friday, April 25, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State No. 1 doubles player Connor Coons finishes a serve during the boys tennis tournament at Sports Pavilion Lawrence on Friday, April 25, 2025, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence No. 1 doubles player Josh Lavin watches the ball during the boys tennis tournament at Sports Pavilion Lawrence on Friday, April 25, 2025, in Lawrence.