photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State's Andrew McCall, left, and Drew Harrison celebrate a point during the 6A state tennis tournament on Friday, May 15, 2026, in Wichita.

WICHITA — Six of the eight local tennis players from Free State and Lawrence got to finish day 1 of the boys tennis state tournament with celebrations.

Free State’s two singles players finished the first day still in the championship bracket and will start day 2 by facing off in the semifinal round. The Firebirds’ top doubles team and Lawrence’s doubles team both took losses but finished the day with wins to advance to the final day on Saturday.

Free State’s Micah Ward entered as the No. 1 seed after winning the Sunflower League tournament and regional tournament following an undefeated regular season. After a first-round bye, his two matches were over quickly. Ward started with a 6-0, 6-0 win in the second round, followed by a 6-0, 6-1 win in the quarterfinal, beating No. 16 seeded Lincoln Kaumeyer from Maize and No. 9 seeded Christopher Long from Shawnee Mission East.

Firebird Ishaan Rao finished second in both the league and regional tournaments and entered as the No. 4 seed in the state tournament. Rao also earned a first-round bye and beat No. 13 Mitchell Terhune from Olathe Northwest 6-0, 6-1 in Rao’s first match. In the quarterfinal, Rao beat No. 5 Jay Hoke from Manhattan in three sets, winning the first set 6-1 and the final set 6-3.

Rao and Ward’s undefeated starts to the tournament puts them in the semifinal against each other, something Rao said he was hoping for after the regional tournament.

Lawrence’s doubles team of Jack Bauch and Koh Brewer entered as the No. 14 seed and went 3-1 on the day to punch their ticket to the second day.

The duo started with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Liberal’s No. 19 seeded doubles team. In the second round, the Lions lost to Shawnee Mission South’s No. 3 seeded doubles team 6-0, 6-1. In the consolation side of the bracket, the Lawrence duo needed two wins and beat Derby’s doubles team 8-0 for the first win and beat Shawnee Mission East’s No. 11 seeded doubles team 9-8 (7-4) for the second win.

“That was the most intense match of my tennis career — it all came down to this,” Bauch said. “In that match, I just told myself I have to step up and hit the best shots I can. Having that pay off is nice… it gives me a lot of trust in myself.”

The win over the Lancers was a long, back-and-forth match against a team that had beaten the Lion pair before this season. Bauch said that the Free State families and players that were watching and supporting the duo in the final match made a difference.

“I’m very glad that we won,” Brewer said. “This is the last tournament for our season, so to make it to day 2 my freshman year instead of just day 1 is very special.”

Bauch said he’ll miss playing with Brewer after Saturday, but that it’s not a bittersweet moment for him.

“I never thought we’d get this far, so this is all gravy,” Bauch said. “I’ll miss it, but this has just been the cherry on top.”

Free State’s doubles team of Andrew McCall and Drew Harrison entered as the No. 17 seed and beat the No. 16 seeded team from Maize in the first round, 6-2, 6-1. The Firebirds lost to the No. 1 seeded Blue Valley West duo 6-1, 6-0 but bounced back in the consolation bracket.

McCall and Harrison beat Topeka’s doubles team 8-3 to set up a win-or-go-home situation against the No. 9 seeded Blue Valley Northwest team. McCall and Harrison finished with an 8-4 win.

During the fourth match, the Firebird duo could feel their position in the match slipping. McCall and sure Harrison knew they were still in it, and the team finished strong to win.

“At the start of the season, one of the things we really worked on was trying to get that energy,” Harrison said. “It feels great to have a partner to pick me up, and when I’m not playing well, I know he can step up.”

The win for the Firebirds set up a consolation quarterfinal match against Olathe Northwest’s doubles team. McCall and Harrison have a long day ahead of them, but it starts with recovery tonight and some homemade cookies.

“We’re running on adrenaline right now,” McCall said. “We’re going to feel (the exhaustion) tonight.”

The Free State doubles team of Eli Risley and Aiden Hixson nearly qualified for the second day of the tournament but lost the fourth match of the night to end the tournament run. The Firebirds entered as the No. 20 seed and started with an upset over Manhattan’s No. 13 doubles team in three sets, 7-5, 4-6, 10-6. In the second round, the duo lost to the No. 4 seeded Blue Valley West team 6-0, 6-0.

Hixson and Risley bounced back to win in the consolation bracket 8-0 to set up their fourth match of the day. There, the Firebirds lost to Washburn Rural’s No. 12 seeded team 8-6.

As a team, Free State remains in contention for a top-three finish with one of Rao and Ward guaranteed to reach the first-place match. The second day of the state tournament will start at 9 a.m. at the Ralph Wulz Riverside Tennis Center.

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