CHANUTE — For Mustang seniors Rhett Allen and Isaiah Fawson, this season has been about one thing: Find a way to play your best when it’s time for regionals and earn a ticket to the state tournament.
Allen had a bit of a setback on that goal last week during a tournament in Chanute when he finished with a 1-1 record.
“Last time I came here, I played really bad,” Allen said. “It felt really good to come back here and win all of (my matches).”
The Iola No. 2 singles player bounced back on Monday in the Chanute Invitational.
Allen began his day with a default victory with Labette County not having a No. 2 singles player and when he was finally able to take the court, he made quick work of Columbus’ Tim Eppler, 8-2.
The senior followed with an 8-0 victory over Neodesha’s Jordan Lowe to set up a match with Chanute’s Trey Kasten, who had also been dominant throughout the tournament.
“I knew the Chanute kid would be my toughest competition,” Allen said. “He is a really good player.”
Kasten and Allen both will be in contention for a state berth in May’s regional tournament in Chanute, so Monday’s matchup — the first of the season between the two — was a big litmus test for Allen.
Allen jumped out to a 7-4 lead over Kasten with his strong serving and attacking play at the net.
Kasten rallied with two-straight points to narrow the score to 7-6 — one point from forcing a tiebreaker.
With his back against the wall and Kasten carrying the momentum, Allen buckled down and was able to hold his serve to win the point and the match, 8-6.
“Rhett was able to place the ball well and force (Kasten) into bad shots,” Iola coach Dan Berg said. “That was probably the best approach he has had this year.”
The highlight of the match came on a shot down the line by Allen which was perfectly placed to get by Kasten’s reach and just hit in-play. After the ball hit inbounds, Allen unleashed some quick emotion for the first time the entire match with a brief yell.
“It felt so good,” Allen said. “I needed that one bad.”
Fawson also began his day with a 3-0 record in No. 1 singles competition.
“He didn’t see a lot of his serves returned well,” Berg said. “He has a pretty good power serve.”
The top Iola player beat Labette County’s Jordan Sutton, 8-1, and Columbus’ Reese White, 8-2 in his first two matches, before knocking off Neodesha’s Phillip Porter, 8-1, to set up a matchup with Chanute’s Alvaro Ribas in the final match of the day.
“I thought I played pretty well,” Fawson said. “I have been really confident and I am really looking forward to regionals. I think I can play well enough. If I play well, I should be able to make it to state.”
Ribas beat Fawson last week, however, Fawson has had more success against their common opponents in the last couple tournaments (including only scoring an 8-4 victory over Sutton), so Fawson entered the match with plenty of confidence.
Ribas’ style is in stark contrast to many of to Fawson’s other opponents this season. In fact, the person whom Ribas’ style mirrors the most is Fawson himself.
“Whenever Isaiah sees Ribas, it is basically the only other power player he sees,” Berg said. “It is power player versus power player, I just wish he see more of it. I think he could play better if he saw it more often. That is the way Isaiah beats people.”
The two players put on a great display of tennis with plenty a hard hit balls for points and nearly every point was hotly contested, but Ribas was able to earn a 8-1 victory.
“I did pretty well in that last match, but he is just a really good player,” Fawson said. “We both just try and hit winners back and fourth and see who can hit the hardest, but so far he has just ended up on top.”
DOUBLES
The Iola No. 1 doubles team of sophomores Bret Plumlee and Jon Miller finished with a 2-2 record for the tournament.
“They played at the net well,” Berg said. “Their serves have also really picked up and they are placing the ball well.”
They opened with an 8-2 victory over Labette County’s Isaac Payne and Zane Sweeten, but fell 8-1 to Columbus’ Luke Laws and Pete Westervelt.
Miller and Plumlee responded with a 8-1 win over Neodesha’s Eli Peck and Wyatt Reynolds.
Chanute’s Fisher Lund and Brayden Frederick ended Miller and Plumlee’s day with a 8-3 loss.
Iola’s No. 2 duo of Adryan Nading and Jackson Cone also went 2-2.
“I thought their serves were better than I have seen in the past,” Berg said. “Their placement still needs some work.”
They lost 8-0 against Labette County’s Seth Jones and Luke Falkenstein, before getting a default win over Columbus, who did not bring a No. 2 doubles team.
Nading and Cone picked up an 8-4 win against Neodesha’s Levi Hooper and Brett Dick-Wolfe to build momentum leading into their final matchup of the day against Chanute.
Despite the momentum, the host school’s duo of Scout Lee and Braden Robinson beat Nading and Cone, 8-3.
