INDEPENDENCE — Iola will send its top singles player and top doubles pairing to the Class 4A State Tennis Tournament after a strong performance in regionals Saturday.
With the top six placers advancing to state, No. 1 singles player Colby Works entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed. He was able to play to that seed as he finished in third place.
After cruising in his first round matchup, Works faced a tough challenge in round two, but dispatched Winfield’s Reuben Bowling 7-5, 7-6 (5). Works fell to Bowling’s teammate, second-seeded Steven Deere in the semifinals a round later, but topped fourth-seeded Kyle Hutley of Parsons in the third-place match.
Works carries a 23-8 record into state. It is his third trip to the state tournament.
Mason Key and Rhett Allen entered the tournament as just the eighth seed in the doubles bracket, but were able to punch their ticket to state by finishing sixth. After losing in the quarterfinals to the top-seeded Crowe brothers from Winfield, the Iola duo need a win to advance to state. But if they lost their season would be over.
In the must-win match, they faced off with the four seed from Coffeyville. Key and Allen topped the pair of Reitz and Holman to earn a spot in fifth-place match and in the state tournament.
“(They had to beat Coffeyville to make it to state,” Iola coach Dan Berg said. “They lost to Coffeyville the very first match they doubled together this season, but they paid them back for the loss.”
Key and Allen took the fifth-place match to three sets, but ended up settling for sixth.
Isaiah Fawson fell one match short of also earning a state berth.
Coming in as the eighth seed, Fawson won his opening match before falling to Zack Schroeder of Independence. Schroeder was the eventual champion and only lost one point the entire tournament.
Fawson face the faced Columbus’ top player, five seed Mac Jameson. Fawson lost the first set 6-1, recovered to take the second one 6-4, but lost the third set 6-2. Jameson went on to win the fifth-place match in straight sets.
“(Fawson) had a great season, ended up 21-5,” Berg said. “(I’m) looking forward to him being the No. 1 singles player next season.”
Iola’s freshman duo of Bret Plumlee and Jon Miller finished the tournament with a 1-1 record. The 12 seed earned that seed and a matchup with the fifth-seeded Gilmore and Lund duo from Chanute by defeating Labette County’s Payne and Sweeten in the opening round.
They fell to the Chanute pair a round later. Lund and Gilmore took fourth in the tournament.
“(I’m) looking forward to (Miller and Plumlee) returning next year with what they have learned,” Berg said.
