15 4A/3-2-1A TENNIS PLAYERS TO WATCH
 

 
CALEB BARTELS, KANSAS CITY CHRISTIAN
 
Bartels nearly made his debut season a championship one, making a run at the Class 3-2-1A state singles championship. He topped Rossville's Alex Sherer to capture a regionals title but saw his bid to earn a rematch against Sherer in the finals denied by a 6-2, 6-3 loss to Wichita Collegiate's Nick Grabon in the semifinals. Bartels bounced back to take a 6-0, 6-2 win over Smoky Valley's Jake Lucas in the third-place match to finish the season in third place and with a 26-5 overall record. He will remain at No. 1 singles for the Panthers this season as a sophomore.
 
 

ANTHONY CLENNAN, HUTCHINSON TRINITY

Clennan took sixth place in the Class 3-2-1A state tournament last year as a sophomore. He took second place in the Hesston regional. Clennan won his state opener against Smoky Valley's Maxwell Bieker before falling to Wichita Collegiate Nick Grabon. He bounced back with wins Collegiate's Grant Ramsey and Conway Springs' Colby Osner before dropping the fifth-place match against Central Plains' Peyton Ryan. Clennan finished with a 19-4 record last year and was the Heart of America League champion.  
 

 
 
JAX CORNEJO, WELLINGTON

Cornejo won the singles title at the regional tournament in El Dorado before going on to take sixth place in the Class 4A state tournament last year as a sophomore. Cornejo won his first match at state against Pratt's Micah Tatro before dropping his quarterfinal match against Independence's Kale Groff. He won his next two matches against Paola's Carden Escobar and El Dorado's Hayden Greene and ended the tournament with a loss to Andrew Ladwig of Bishop Miege in the fifth-place match. Cornejo finished the season with a 25-7 mark.  

 

 
MICAH DAHLSTEN, HESSTON

As a sophomore, Dahlsten teamed with Cole Deutschendorf to take third place in doubles at the Class 3-2-1A state tournament. Dahlsten and Deutschendorf opened state with a win over Marysville's Bryar O'Neil and Simeon Wassom before defeating Wichita Classical's Ethan Chouinard and Isaac Branam in the quarterfinals. They fell in the semifinals to Kansas City's Owen Vander Ark and James Vander Ark but regrouped to win the third-place match, 6-2, 6-1 against fellow Hesston players Ben Bollinger and Andrew Schmidt. Dahlsten and Deutschendorf, who was a senior last year, also won the doubles title at the Hesston regional. They finished with a 31-5 record, and Dahlsten also had a 4-0 mark in singles. This season Dahlsten will play with freshman Asher Deutschendorf, who is the brother of Cole Deutschendorf. 

 

CHARLIE DUNNE, WICHITA COLLEGIATE

Dunne and playing partner Luke Swan won 14 of 15 matches last season and captured the Class 3-2-1A doubles championship. Swan, a two-time state doubles winner, has since graduated. Dunne, a senior, worked with different partners last spring, winning the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division III-IV title with classmate Nick Grabon. The pair defeated eventual 4A champions Brennan Gipson and Conner Glazner of McPherson 6-0, 6-0 for the league's No. 1 doubles title. Dunne, who finished ninth at state in singles as a freshman, reconnected with Swan for the postseason, winning a regional title to set up a state run that concluded with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Kansas City's Christian's Owen and James Vander Ark.

 

 
JADEN FOX, MCPHERSON

Fox took fourth place in Class 4A singles last season as a junior and finished with a 23-13 record. He has signed to continue his tennis career at Bethel College. Fox opened the state tournament with a win over Independence's Sam Grice and then pulled out a tough three-setter against El-Dorado's Hayden Greene to reach the semifinals. He fell in three sets to Independence's Kale Groff, the eventual state champion, before dropping the third-place match to Parson's Zach Spriggs in another match that went three sets.

 

 
GUS GLOTZBACH, HAYDEN

As a sophomore last season, Glotzbach paired with junior Michael Sandstrom at No. 1 doubles and the duo meshed immediately. After winning a Class 4A regional title, they carried the momentum over to the state tournament and rode it to a runner-up state finish, falling in the finals to McPherson's Brennan Gipson and Conner Glazner. The duo finished the season with a 27-10 record.
 

NICK GRABON, WICHITA COLLEGIATE

Grabon, a senior, helped the Spartans win the Class 3-2-1A team title last season with his second-place finish in singles. The Wichita East transfer battled Rossville's Alex Sherer in a classic final, falling to the since-graduated Sherer 6-7 (8-10), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). In addition to his 17-5 record in singles, Grabon teamed with Charlie Dunne to capture the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division III-IV title at No. 1 doubles. He advanced to state as a regional champion, and is expected to compete in singles again this season.
 

 
 
KALE GROFF, INDEPENDENCE
 
Groff overcame a 10-loss season to become the Class 4A singles state champion. He even went down a set in each of his final two matches before storming back for wins. Groff's gritty performance gave Indy the edge in the points standings to win the team title as well. With four of the team's six state qualifiers returning, Groff and the Bulldogs will both have a chance to repeat this season.  

 

 
CAMDON JULIAN AND EASTON MORRIS, INDEPENDENCE
 
Julian, a sophomore, and Morris, a junior, return from a third-place finish in Class 4A doubles last season. Both will stick with doubles this year, but are not necessarily going to try to run it back as partners. Brecken Bertie, who took ninth at state along with outgoing senior Ryan Stoner, will be in the mix to figure out the right doubles pairings for the Bulldogs.
 

 
 
CARSON RADEMACHER, WELLINGTON

Rademacher teamed with Kade Adams last year to post a 28-6 doubles record and take sixth place in doubles finish at the Class 4A state tournament. Rademacher and Adams lost their first match at state to Buhler's Kayden Krone and Elias Harder but proceeded to win their next four matches, defeating Labette County's Chase Carnahan and John Redford, Ottawa's Ty Whitney and Cole Hanson, Independence's Brecken Bertie and Ryan Stoner, and McPherson's Alex Houston and Wesley Wurm. They fell to Krone and Harder in the fifth-place match. Rademacher is a senior this year.  
 

 
 
PEYTON RYAN, CENTRAL PLAINS

Ryan took his bid for an undefeated freshman season into the Class 3-2-1A state tournament last year. He won his state opener before suffering what would prove to be his only loss of the season, falling 0-4, 0-6 to eventual state champion Alex Sherer from Rossville. He responded to win three more matches to secure fifth place at state and finish with a 37-1 season record. Ryan comes from a family of standout athletes, including older sister Emily Ryan, a current star for the Iowa State women's basketball team.  
 

 
MICHAEL SANDSTROM, HAYDEN

The only holdover from Hayden's 2019 team, Sandstrom moved from singles to doubles play as a junior last year, teaming with sophomore Gus Glotzbach. The duo placed third at the Topeka City Meet and then captured a Class 4A regional championship. Playing their best tennis of the season at the end, Sandstrom and Glotzbach got hot at state and finished runner-up to McPherson's Brennan Gipson and Conner Glazner, capping a 27-10 season.
 

 
JAMES VANDER ARK, KANSAS CITY CHRISTIAN
 
As a sophomore last season, Vander Ark teamed with older brother Owen to form an imposing doubles team for the Panthers. The bother duo captured titles at the Marysville and Topeka West Invitationals and also cruised to a Class 3-2-1A regional championship. They won three straight-set matches at the state tournament to reach the championship match and nearly completed the run to a title, falling 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4) in a marathon championship match to Wichita Collegiate's Charles Dunne and Luke Swan. They finished the season 26-7 and with Owen having graduated, James will team with senior Duncan Paul, who placed fourth at state in doubles as a freshman in 2019.