WICHITA —Shawnee Mission East cruised to a fourth straight Class 6A state team title on Saturday at Ralph Wulz Riverside Tennis Center in Wichita.

Seniors Bryson Langford and Greta Stechschulte set the table for the Lancers to clinch the four-peat while also setting their place in Kansas high school tennis history. The Lancers duo matched the team-title streak with four state doubles titles of their own. Langford and Stechschulte finished their high school career with a 110-4 doubles record, including 95-0 against Kansas opponents.

“I’m just really happy we got to accomplish winning all four years because it was what we wanted to do since freshman year,” Langford said.

Langford and Stechschulte also became the first duo in Kansas high school girls tennis history to win the state doubles title all four years with the same partner. The only other competitors to win four doubles titles in Kansas were former Wichita Collegiate players Amy Rheem and Hannah Osland.

Rheem won four doubles state titles in Class 3-2-1A from 1993-96 with three different partners, while Osland sandwiched two 4A titles around two 3-2-1A titles from 2012-15, pairing with Morgan Bergen for the first and Allie Lindwall for the final three. Just like the Lancers duo, Rheem and Osland helped their teams win state team titles all four years. 

Both Langford and Stechschulte said it was extremely important for them to celebrate that historic feat with their teammates hoisting up the state championship trophy right beside them.

“It feels great, especially being able to win as a team,” Stechschulte said. “Everyone’s happy at the end of the day. Being able to have that for us, but also everyone is special. It’s really nice that we’re all able to be champions.”

The team sharing the experience of winning the state title also helps smooth over any potential frustration for the Lancers No. 2 doubles team. Juniors Abigail Long and Katie Schmidt have finished second to Langford and Stechschulte in each of the last three seasons.

Long and Schmidt have nearly mirrored their older teammates' perfect path through Kansas high school doubles play. That is, except for the 10 losses to their teammates, nine of which were in the finals matches of either league, regionals or state.
 

“In tournaments where it’s flighted, we don’t have to play each other, which is great,” Langford said. “We can both win, we're both happy. But in Sunflower League, regionals and state, it’s always only one of us can win. It’s tough because obviously I want them to do well.”

Stechschulte added: “I think they’ve worked really hard and they’re incredible players. Having them in practice to lift each of our teams is a really unique thing. I’m just really proud that both of us can make it to the finals and really succeed.”

Those mixed feelings about facing teammates became even more difficult in this one when Langford and Stechschulte reached the last game of their careers. The senior duo took the first set 6-3 and looked poised to finish the second set in eight games.

With Schmidt serving, Langford and Stechschulte were leading at love-40. Spectators started to crowd outside the fence area near their court waiting to see one last history-making point. After a career of finishing matches off in speedy fashion, Langford and Stechschulte finally ended up forcing the crowd to wait.

“We had three match points and every time we lost one, we were like, ‘It’s fine. Next one, next one’” Stechschulte said. “And then it was not the next one for quite a few, then add-ins and add-outs."

That game reached double-digits on deuce points before Langford and Stechschulte were finally able to reach a two-point advantage to win it and clinch the four-peat.
 

Langford said it helped in that scenario having a partner who has been there with her since Day 1 of their high school careers.

“In those situations, it makes it easier because she knows what to say to get me to play my best and I know what to say to get her to play her best. I think our relationship really helps in those tough scenarios.”

Langford described the experience as a mix of nerve-wracking and exciting, but giving an edge to the latter feeling.

“It was more excitement,” Langford said. “Thinking about it now, that was our last match we played in high school and that’s just a great way to go out.”

Gibbs said that he spoke with both Langford and Stechschulte individually before the semifinals started and told them to soak in the experience and enjoy their last opportunity to play together.

“I’m excited for what comes next for them in college tennis and their academic pursuits,” Gibbs said. “They’re both just incredible people. Obviously great players, but great students as well. This year they really were taking on larger leadership roles within our team and that’s been really exciting to see the way that they’ve grown over the last four years.”

The Lancers did not start Day 2 with as nearly an insurmountable advantage in the team race as they did last season, but the numbers leaned heavily in their favor once the all-Lancers doubles final was set.
 

Shawnee Mission East head coach Andy Gibbs knew all his team needed was a couple gutsy performances from his two singles players after they slid to the backside of the bracket. 

Both singles players had semifinals matchups with players from last year’s singles state final, with sophomore Ishya Bhavsar facing Blue Valley Northwest senior Emily Chiasson and junior Katie Murphy facing Manhattan senior Jillian Harkin.

“We knew quarterfinal matches for both of them was going to be big asks,” Gibbs said. “What we talk about often with our players in an event like this is, 'You’ve got to be able to lose a match and come back and still play well.' They did that.”

Bhavsar took two straight 9-1 finishes, including the second of those being against Murphy, before losing 9-1 to Blue Valley North sophomore Shelby Smith in the fifth place match. Murphy finished in eighth place, giving the Lancers 16 points in singles to reach 46, outpacing runner-up Blue Valley North at 37 and third-place Olathe Northwest at 32.

Shawnee Mission East won its 13 state title in girls tennis, putting itself back into a tie with the school's boys program after it won last spring. The Lancers also matched the girls program’s longest state title streak, first set with a run of championships from 2011 to 2014.

“Bryson and Greta get to join Elizabeth Barnickel and one of the Wilcox sisters (Stephanie) as the only two to do that in our school's history,” Gibbs said. “The way the rest of the players stepped up and played well in big competition, it was really exciting for them to be able to do that.”

The team now trails Blue Valley North’s state title total by five. The Mustangs, who finished second at state this year, are the only team other than SM East to win a Class 6A state title since 1995. Those two programs even shared the 2018 state title, the first in the Lancers current run at the top. The last program other than those two to win 6A was Topeka West in 1994.

Gibbs likes the prospect of this team returning everybody but Langford and Stechschulte to chase the program’s first five-peat.

“It’s an exciting thing to think about the possibility of (Long and Schmidt) finally getting their opportunity to lead,” Gibb said. “The competition internally for our singles spots this year was tight. I’m excited for what those next couple players (in doubles) potentially bring to our group.”