Special to the Leader & Times

The Liberal tennis team competed in the 6A Regional Tennis Tournament in Maize Friday.

Singles players Gerardo Holguin and Aaron Munoz both battled in their first round matches and kept them close for a while but ultimately lost those to end their bid for State.

The doubles team of senior Diego Flores and sophomore Jose Bolivar played a good Derby team tough in the first round but fell 6-2, 6-2

The doubles team of sophomores Easton Martinez and J’Kobe Contreras defeated Wichita Northwest in the first round 6-2, 6-3, then they avenged their teammates’ loss to Derby by defeating them 3-6, 7-5, 10-7 in a long hard fought battle.

They ran into the No. 1 seeded Maize team and fell 6-0, 6-1 in the semifinals.

In the third place match against the other Maize team, Liberal won the first set and then fatigue set in after playing eight sets in the sun and Liberal dropped that match 5-7, 6-2, 6-0.

“The boys had nothing left in the tank,” Liberal coach David Short said.  “If that match happens earlier in the day, it’s a different story. EJ and J’Koby took fourth place at Regionals and have earned their way to play at the State tennis tournament May 15 at the Riverside tennis complex in Wichita. This is a huge accomplishment for a team of sophomores.”