photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State's Jacob Wang goes for a low swing during a tennis quad on Monday, April 6, 2026, at Sports Pavilion Lawrence in Lawrence.

The Lawrence boys tennis teams hosted Free State, Olathe East and Shawnee Mission Northwest on Monday at Sports Pavilion Lawrence.

It was Free State’s first competition of the season, while Lawrence is in its second week of action. Free State won all 12 matches in the quad, while Lawrence went 6-6.

“We’ve seen some good things at practice, but you always want to see it transition to competition,” Free State coach Aaron Clark said. “They raised their level a little bit. I was happy — it was a good start to the season.”

The Lions played well and were able to mount comebacks in several matches. Lawrence coach Stephen Hudson was impressed with his team’s demeanor in those moments.

“That showed some mental toughness, right there,” Hudson said. “That’s tough being down by four match points at least and coming back to win.”

The first round pitted Lawrence and Free State against each other. Free State’s No. 1 singles player Ishaan Rao beat Lawrence’s Julian Bricker 8-0, while Free State’s Lawrence Dao won his singles match over Oliver Hester 8-0.

The Firebirds’ No. 1 doubles team of Drew Harrison and Andrew McCall beat Lawrence’s Jack Bauch and Koh Brewer 8-4, while the Firebirds’ second doubles team of Aiden Hixson and Jacob Wang beat Lawrence’s Dwight Souders and Eli Iskandrani.

Lawrence faced Shawnee Mission Northwest in the second round and went 3-1. Bricker won in an 8-7 (8-6) tiebreaker, and both Lawrence doubles teams won. Bauch and Brewer won 8-0, while the team of Souders and Iskandrani won 8-2. Hester lost a close match 8-6 in the No. 2 singles.

For Free State’s second round, they went undefeated against Olathe East. Rao won 8-1, and Dao won 8-2. Harrison and McCall won their doubles match 8-2, while Hixson and Wang won theirs 8-5.

The Firebirds have a mix of state returners and freshmen on the team, but Clark said he didn’t see any of the young members of the team look like they didn’t belong.

“To me, that experience outside of high school tennis they brought into high school tennis,” Clark said. “It’s so far, so good. They’ve competed well.”

Bricker won his third-round match against Olathe East 8-2. Hester lost his final match 8-4, and Lawrence won its final two doubles matches. Bauch and Brewer came back to win an 8-7 (10-8) tiebreaker, while Souders and Iskandrani won 8-2.

“We’re progressing every match,” Hudson said. “Some of our guys played with more confidence … our No. 2 doubles won their last two matches. (Hester) is a gym rat, but with tennis. He’s always out on the court, and with that kind of dedication, he’s going to go somewhere.”

Rao finished the day with an 8-0 win, and Dao picked up an 8-1 win against Shawnee Mission Northwest. Harrison and McCall won 8-0 in their final doubles match, while Hixson and Wang won 8-0 in their match against Shawnee Mission Northwest.

“We’re a deep team this year,” Clark said. “Our seven through 12 can compete with a lot of varsity teams. I like what I’m seeing with our doubles. I think they’re competing and working well together. Our singles are established and some of the best players on our team.”