The Iola High tennis team’s season came to a close at the regional tournament in Independence on Friday.
All six of Iola’s tennis players went down in single elimination including senior Luke Wicoff in his final run.
“Overall this season has been a blast and I will miss practice until next year,” Iola head coach Chris Belknap said. “These boys enjoyed the sport so much, I would see them at the courts any chance they could get. I’m glad that I could pass on my love for the sport.”
“Our only senior, Luke Wicoff, was playing his second year of tennis and was really starting to get a great serve and powerful two-hand forehand down,” Belknap said. “I wish him the best and will miss him on the team next year.”
Ethan Riebel transitioned from singles to doubles play in the regular season.
“Ethan is learning the difference between playing doubles and singles,” Belknap said. Ethan’s serve is going to be amazing once we can get it down. It is very powerful and he gets aces even against me.”
Zach Pfaff fought hard for a spot in singles play all season long.
“Zach is a freshman and wants to play singles, but played doubles most of the season because he could not beat out a singles player for the spot on the varsity team,” Belknap added.
Payton Kern transitioned from doubles to singles play this season.
“Payton Kern, grandson of my high school coach Lyle Kern, is playing singles and loves it,” said Belknap. “He started off the season playing doubles and moved over to dominate. He is a pretty consistent player and covers the court really well.”
Brody Thompson has played doubles alongside Riebel this season.
“Brody Thompson, a freshman, started playing doubles and wound up playing with his cousin Ethan near the end of the season,” Belknap said. “The duo is filled with drive and love for the sport. Just yesterday, they went and played for four hours. Brody is getting really good at playing aggressively at the net which wins points and saves energy and time.”
Trapper Boren made some tremendous strides in singles play this year.
“Trapper Boren, a freshman, is playing singles and making great strides,” Belknap said. “He started playing for the No. 1 singles position at the start of the season against Ethan Riebel. He was finally able to beat Payton Kern in a match, 6-2 ,and was really excited about it at the end of the season.”
Iola now awaits their girls tennis season in the fall.
