The boys tennis program includes only three seniors leaving loads of room for new players.

However, the first two tournaments of the season showed the promise of younger players.

Solid outings by doubles team junior Cooper Wright and sophomore Kanak Masten, and singles players senior Remington Eakin and freshman Kirk Johnson, have launched the team to a 3-1 record.

In the first tournament, Wright and Masten blazed their way through bracket play, advancing to the championship game. 

“It was great,” Masten said. “We made it to the finals. Didn’t play our best in the finals, but it was good.”

They finished second in No. 1 doubles after falling short against a talented doubles team that placed in the 4A state tournament last year. 

While they set the tone, singles players senior Remington Eakins (2-1) took runner-up in No. 2 singles and freshman Kirk Johnson (2-1) also took runner-up in No. 3 singles. These victories led LHS to a second-place team finish. 

“I think [Masten and I] are the leaders of the team, so we’ve just got to set an example and play well at tournaments and be consistent,” Wright said. 

Wright and Masten continued to demonstrate their leadership as they partnered for a 3-1 record at the Washburn Rural Invitational. The success was followed by Johnson, a much younger player. Johnson performed well again as he went undefeated, placing first in No. 2 doubles with a 2-0 record in tournament two. Freshman Drew Dean also went undefeated in the Rural Invitational, winning three matches. 

“We just gotta keep winning so we can get a good seed at regionals and hopefully get to state and do some damage there,” Wright said.