WINFIELD — Playing their best tennis of the year, Ethan Burnett and Ayden Cummings of the Chanute Blue Comets earned a sixth-place finish in the doubles division at the KSHSAA 4A Boys Tennis State Championships in Winfield over the weekend.
“These two guys have finished topeight before and they were going to do whatever it took to get it done this year,” Chanute head coach Jeff Smith said. “We made everybody earn everything. These two guys have given so much to our program and they earned it.”
Burnett and Cummings, the No. 10 seed, opened the state tournament with a 7-6 (1), 6-1 victory in the first round over Fort Scott’s Kaiden Clary and Landon McDaniel.
The Chanute duo then upset seventh- seeded Mason Morris and Davion Holman, 7-5, 6-3, in the second round.
“We liked the matchup,” Smith said. “We played them before and felt like we let them off the hook. We had been looking forward to playing them again. We prepared for that matchup in our practices leading up to state. They knew what they had to do to get it done.”
In the quarterfinals, Burnett and Cummings fell to eventual state runner- up Jackson Davis and Adam Everett, 6-2, 6-2.
“We competed really well with them,” Smith said. “The score didn’t look great, but anybody who watched the match knew we competed with them. That team was so experienced and was such a good squad. That’s why they played for a state title.”
Chanute opened Saturday with perhaps the best comeback of any entry at state, overcoming a 6-1 deficit to Anthony Davies and John Alton of Clay Center to win the back-side match, 9-7.
“We were down 1-6 and met at the fence,” Smith said. “We talked about the hours we had put in and the time we’re away from our families. Did we want to end our tournament this way? We just turned it on and came back and won that match.”
Burnett and Cummings then took down Parsons’ top doubles team, Conner Barcus and Cole Kennett, 9-7, avenging a season’s worth of losses to their league rivals.
“This time, it was for all the money,” Burnett said. “We knew what was at stake and we were able to pull through. We hadn’t played up to our peak until then. But today, we played to our peak.”
“That Parsons team is one of the best teams in the state. I don’t care about the placings,” Smith said. “To get a win against them was absolutely legit for us.”
Chanute’s state tournament ended with a 9-7 loss to McPherson’s Bryson Archer and Alexander Berger.
It also marked the end of Burnett’s storied career for Chanute, where he ends with 99 career wins.
“I really enjoyed it here,” Burnett said. “I loved playing Ayden for two years. I loved playing with Parker (Henson) for a year and playing singles my freshman year. I loved seeing how everybody developed. It’s been such a fun experience.”
Schmitt loses both matches
Arthur Schmitt, who qualified for state in singles for Chanute, went 0-2 at state.
Seeded No. 22 in the 24-person bracket, Schmitt fell to regional champion Cooper Bohme of McPherson, 6-2, 6-3, and then to Jaxsen DeMott of Fort Scott, 8-1.
“He had a tough season and was new to tennis,” Smith said. “He came here from Brazil as a foreign exchange student who hadn’t played any competitive tennis. So he learned to compete and how to give everything he got. He made strides at the end and earned a spot here. He had a successful year.”
TOP: Chanute assistant coach Jeff Schoenberger, Ayden Cummings, Ethan Burnett and head coach Jeff Smith post in front of the KSHSAA banner after Burnett and Cummings won sixth place in doubles at the KSHSAA 4A Boys Tennis State Championships in Winfield on Saturday. BOTTOM LEFT: Arthur Schmitt of the Chanute Blue Comets hustles to return a volley during the KSHSAA 4A Boys Tennis State Championships in Winfield. BOTTOM RIGHT: Ayden Cummings of the Chanute Blue Comets backhands a return during a doubles match at the KSHSAA 4A Boys Tennis State Championships in Winfield. Sean Frye | Tribune photo
