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photo by: David Rodish\/Journal-World<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
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WICHITA \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
Free State\u2019s 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\u2019 top doubles team and Lawrence\u2019s doubles team both took losses but finished the day with wins to advance to the final day on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Free State\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Rao and Ward\u2019s undefeated starts to the tournament puts them in the semifinal against each other, something Rao said he was hoping for after the regional tournament.<\/p>\n
Lawrence\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The duo started with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Liberal\u2019s No. 19 seeded doubles team. In the second round, the Lions lost to Shawnee Mission South\u2019s 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\u2019s doubles team 8-0 for the first win and beat Shawnee Mission East\u2019s No. 11 seeded doubles team 9-8 (7-4) for the second win.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the most intense match of my tennis career \u2014 it all came down to this,\u201d Bauch said. \u201cIn that match, I just told myself I have to step up and hit the best shots I can. Having that pay off is nice\u2026 it gives me a lot of trust in myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very glad that we won,\u201d Brewer said. \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bauch said he\u2019ll miss playing with Brewer after Saturday, but that it\u2019s not a bittersweet moment for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought we\u2019d get this far, so this is all gravy,\u201d Bauch said. \u201cI\u2019ll miss it, but this has just been the cherry on top.\u201d<\/p>\n
Free State\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
McCall and Harrison beat Topeka\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the start of the season, one of the things we really worked on was trying to get that energy,\u201d Harrison said. \u201cIt feels great to have a partner to pick me up, and when I\u2019m not playing well, I know he can step up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The win for the Firebirds set up a consolation quarterfinal match against Olathe Northwest\u2019s doubles team. McCall and Harrison have a long day ahead of them, but it starts with recovery tonight and some homemade cookies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re running on adrenaline right now,\u201d McCall said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to feel (the exhaustion) tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n
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\u2019s No. 12 seeded team 8-6.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n