CHANUTE — Iola High’s Mustangs went down fighting in Thursday’s Kansas Class 4A Regional Tennis Tournament.
The Mustangs’ two singles players and two doubles teams had to “play-in” to the tournament. Only one survived the play-in matches but the Iola players made others work for it.
The regional tournament is a two-day event if you survive the opening day. Chanute High hosted the 2012 regional which concluded Friday.
Jordan Strickler, one of five juniors on the six-man roster for Iola, pulled off a victory with a tiebreaker. Strickler defeated Kevin Morgan of Chanute 9-8 in his singles’ play-in match. Strickler won the tiebreaker 8-6.
That put Strickler in the tournament. He fell 6-4, 6-1 to Fort Scott High’s Austin Sather.
Iola’s other singles player was junior Zeph Larney. Larney dropped his first match 6-0, 6-0 to Parsons’ Payton Hays.
Juniors Drew Smith and Hayden Wolf, who is a first-year player, lost in their doubles’ play-in match. They dropped a 9-3 decision to Columbus’ Andre McClean and Blake Mackenson.
First-year players senior Brad Bazo and junior Stephen McDonald also came up short in the play-in match. They lost 9-3 to Cale Paquette and Clint Lyman of Ottawa.
The Mustangs concluded the 2012 tennis season. They only had six players on the squad this season.
Iola will continue to play Southeast Kansas League opponents next season even though Iola leaves the SEK for the Pioneer League. The Pioneer League doesn’t have tennis.
