After a season of great wins from the top players, it all comes to a close during the the State Championship. The competition was held at Olathe last Friday and Saturday and the team had competed well through the season and was prepared to show how well they improved from it.

“Overall it looks like we should finish top five again this year,” Brandon Starkey, head coach, said ”But we will need a lot to go our way to finish top three.”

The team played against some of the top schools and number two singles player junior Robert Zhang competed well against his opponents.

“Robert had a rough draw and was eliminated in consecutive matches. It was an insanely loaded singles pool and Robert fought hard,” Starkey said. “But he doesn’t have anything to hang his head for. He is a two time state qualifier that is going to come back strong next season.”

The meet also didn’t go as planned for the number two doubles team of sophomore Luke Craft and freshman Kelton Poole.

“Luke and Kelton finished the day 2-2 but lost to Garden City in a match that would have gotten them into day two,” Starkey said. “I felt we could have medaled these two, but doubles this year is very competitive. I cannot wait to see what these two become.”

After a season of consecutive wins, earning the title of Centennial singles champion and Regional singles champion, sophomore Daniel Harkin finished State in third place after losing in his the semi-finals to a player from Olathe West.

“Our top singles player Daniel Harkin advanced for the semi-finals for the second consecutive year,” Starkey said. “This year he controlled the match for the most part and won in straight sets.”

Number two doubles team of junior Jerin Ugrin and senior Jack Easton had a good season as well earning two championship titles, but unfortunately the pair place 12th overall at state.

“Jerin and Jack made it to the quarterfinals but came up short against a tough Blue Valley West team,” Starkey said. “They had a good day. They beat who they needed to beat and lost to who they were expected to lose to.”

After a long weekend of playing against opposing schools, the team ended state by placing fifth.

“It’s not a failure in anyway,” Starkey said. “Just a testament to how good these Kansas City schools are.”