INDEPENDENCE — Iola’s Keira Fawson is headed to the Class 4A state tennis meet after finishing in fifth place at the regional meet in Independence Saturday.
Fawson knocked out teammate Rebekah Coltrane in the final match to claim a spot at state. Coltrane made it to the second round before a loss.
“Keira played very well at regionals,” said Iola head coach Chris Belknap. “She is very competitive and enjoys the sport so she works really hard. She stepped up her game when it was needed.”
The Mustang doubles teams of Molly Riebel and Melanie Palmer, Kyndal Bycroft and Harper Desmarteau were both knocked out in the first round.
“Both of our doubles teams played very well,” said Belknap.
Fawson opened up her play by defeating Labette County’s Lucy Pearson, 6-1 and 6-2 before falling to Fort Scott’s Abbie Gorman, 6-0 and 6-1. The senior Mustang took down Coltrane, also a senior, in the losers bracket, 6-0 and 6-1, as well as Fort Scott’s Bryleigh Hymer, 6-3 and 6-4.
“Rebekah didn’t like the idea of playing Keira, but I told her at least you two get to finish playing against a teammate and friend and it doesn’t have to be a random opponent,” Belknap said. “I feel they did a great job and handled it well.”
Coltrane defeated Labette County’s Lily Beery in the opening round, 6-4 and 6-4, before falling to Chanute’s Rylee Smith, 6-0 and 6-0.
Iola’s duo of Palmer and Riebel fell to Parsons, 6-0 and 6-0 and Bycroft and Desmarteau fell to Fort Scott, 6-3 and 6-3.
“I had another great year coaching the Mustangs and I could not have asked for a better group of players,” said Belknap. “Our team has really grown these past few years and I want to continue that trend. I really enjoyed watching them grow as individuals.”
Fawson will compete in the Class 4A state tennis meet Saturday in Winfield.
