Even in going 27-1 and capturing the Class 5A state singles title in dominating fashion in 2021, St. Thomas Aquinas' Russell Lokko knew there was plenty of room for improvement in his game.

Not so much from a physical standpoint. Lokko was overpowering on his way to the title last season, dropping just four games at the state tournament, which included a 6-2, 6-1 win over Mill Valley's Gage Foltz in the finals.

Instead it was a different aspect of his game that Lokko really concentrated on going into his junior season this year.

"Definitely my mental game," he said. "Being smarter on the court and just mentally stronger overall. Don't let things get to you."

That point of emphasis played no small part in Lokko repeating as the 5A state singles champion Saturday at Topeka's Kossover Tennis Center, this time finishing off an undefeated 23-0 season.
 

Facing Foltz in the finals for the second straight year, a repeat rout appeared to be in the works when Lokko shook off losing the first game of the title match to take a 6-1 win in the opening set. But Foltz refused to allow history to fully repeat itself and put Lokko to his stiffest test of the season in the second game, taking a 5-4 lead late and serving for the set.

Lokko, however, didn't flinch. He broke Foltz's serve twice in winning the last three games, the second service break delivering a 6-1, 7-5 victory and the state title.

"It was definitely a big factor because I had to work so hard just to finish it off," Lokko said of his improved mental toughness. "He made me work so hard, such a grind."

Lokko and Foltz have been good friends, practice with each other frequently and are even doubles partners in United States Tennis Association Missouri Valley play ever since Lokko arrived in Kansas from New Jersey prior to his sophomore season. So they were plenty familiar with each other's games.
 

Their three previous meetings this year couldn't have been any more different. After beating Foltz twice in a five-day span in late April, they met again in the regional finals at St. James Academy. The two April wins were battles with Lokko pulling out 8-4 and 8-6 victories, but at regionals, Lokko cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

When they worked their way to another state finals rematch -- Lokko cruising past Maize South's Logan Garrison (6-0, 6-0), Bishop Carroll's Barrett Steven (6-1, 6-1) and Maize's Sam Ritchie (6-0, 6-0) and Foltz handling Seaman's Justin Kruse (6-0, 6-0), Andover's Paul Jittawait (6-0, 6-2) and Maize South's Harris Kossover (6-2, 6-1) -- both expected a battle.

"I knew it wasn't going to be easy," Lokko said. "He's one of my best buddies and I know him and I expected a grind of a match."

"I just really had to honestly just write off regionals and focus on what I did those first matches and keep that mentality and mindset that I had in those matches," Foltz said. "I walked into this one as a new match and knew what I needed to do. I've beaten him in matches outside of high school so I was confident I could do that."

That confidence showed up immediately when Foltz held his opening serve for a quick 1-0 lead in the finals match. But then it took a big hit when Lokko stormed back to win six straight games and take the first set 6-1.

But Foltz regrouped and was more than Lokko's equal in the second set. He led 2-1 and then after seeing Lokko win the next two grames, bounced back to hold leads of 4-3 and 5-4. Serving to force a third set, Foltz saw Lokko come up with an answer to win three straight games for the victory.

"Obviously I wished I could have served it out at 5-4, that would have been nice," said Foltz, who finished the season 29-9. "I'm happy with how that second set went. After that first set, I was able to sit down and say, 'What do I have to lose? Last year, senior year.' I'm happy with how I came out that second set and really made him earn it."
 

Lokko is now 50-1 in his singles career with a pair of state titles. He has a shot at becoming just the 12th player in state history to win three state singles titles with four players -- Wichita Southeast's Rhain Buth (1987-90), Clay Center/Lawrence's Tariq Butt (1991-94), Wichita Collegiate's Matt Wright (1993-96) and Blue Valley North's Jack Sock (2008-11) -- the state's only four-time state singles champions.

"I'm already looking forward to next year," he said. "I think my sophomore one felt better because I was kind of a surprise to everyone. But this year was pretty satsifying too because the expectations were greater and Gage really pushed me. I had to work 110% harder because he wasn't giving it to me."

 

TOPEKA WEST'S CUSICK TWINS GET REDEMPTION

Miles Cusick was quick to correct the assertion that he and twin brother Ian had just played their best tennis of the season in capturing the Class 5A doubles championship.

"Best tennis of my life," Cusick said.

Point taken.

Certainly it was hard to argue with Miles' claim after he and Ian capped a 37-4 season with an impressive performance Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center. Facing doubles teams in the semifinals and finals that they had gone a combined 1-3 against during the regular season, the Cusicks flipped the script and swept both matches in straight sets.

The Cusicks topped Salina Central's twin tandem of Connor and Collin Phelps 6-1, 7-5 in the semifinals to set up a rematch with Maize South's Grayson Wright and Mitchell Krumm. The Chargers rode the momentum from their big semifinal win to a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the finals.

"It's a really great feeling and I know we were both ecstatic after winning," Miles said. 'It's a goal we've been working for our entire tennis career, to win state. And now we've done it."

"I don't know that it's really set in yet," Ian said.

The thrill of victory was a far cry from the feelings the brothers had a year ago when they entered the state tournament on a roll with city, league and regional titles only to fall in the quarterfinals and eventually settle for a ninth-place finish.

Fueled by that disappointment, the Cusicks came into the season motivated and looking for redemption. But the start to the 2022 season was rough.

The Cusicks went 1-3 at the season-opening Salina Central Duals, losing to the Phelpses, Wright and Krumm and Arkansas City's brother combo of Oakley and Dawson O'Donnell. After taking another loss to Wright and Krumm at the Arkansas City Invitational the following week, the Cusicks did a little soul-searching.

""That first tournament we played at Salina Central, I don't know if it was overconfidence or what, but we came out that tournament and knew we had to do something different to win," Miles said. "I think our communication between each other and our energy has improved a lot."

They didn't lose again. After sweeping city, league and regional titles once again, the Cusicks entered the state tournament on a 29-match winning streak. They got a solid battle from Kapaun Mt. Carmel's Gavin Bhargava and Jonathan McIlvain in their first match on Friday, winning 6-3, 6-3, before routing Maize South's Hudson Grizzell and Noah Rodriguez 6-0, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

That set up the semifinal showdown with the Phelps brothers, who beat the Cusicks 9-4 at Salina before the Cusicks won an 8-7 (7-4) tiebreaker rematch at the Topeka West Invitational in mid-April. With a night to sleep on another rematch with the Mustang duo, Ian said he and his brother woke up Saturday morning confident.

"We just had to play our game," Ian said. "We have a very similar style of play, we like getting to the net. We just knew we could play better."

It showed. The Cusicks came out and dominated the first set 6-1. The second set was a battle before the Cusicks pulled out a 7-5 victory to advance to the finals.

"I think we stunned them in that first set," Ian said. "But with any good team, you have to be prepared for them come back in the match. That's what they did and beating them in that tough match gave us a confidence boost going into finals."

One the Cusicks definitely needed. They had lost the only two meetings with Wright and Krumm this season, falling 9-4 and 8-3. But just as they had against the Phelps brothers, the Cusicks took control of the match early and never let the Maize South duo gain much traction at all, getting out to leads of 3-0 and 5-1 in the first set and then dominating the second set from start to finish.

So what changed?

"I don't think we really changed a lot about our tactics," Miles said. "It was just making sure we played our game, make a ton of serves and first balls and that's what we were really trying to do instead of changing to try and play to their weaknesses."

Ian agreed.

"Their game plan is to really try and make a lot of balls and outlast you," he said. "We just had to get to the net and get points before they did."
 

Aggressive net play is a forte for the Cusicks. And with match point on the line, Miles got set up at the net for an overhand smash to deliver the title.

"I was happy to see that it wasn't going to be an unforced error, it was going to be us winning the title right there," Miles said. "He set me up good with the serve and first ball and when I saw that ball right there in the middle, it was, 'This is it. Don't miss.'"

"Before he even swung, I just knew he was going to destroy it," Ian said.

And with that, the Cusicks became West's first state doubles champions since Zach Shima and Kyle Rice in 2017, finishing the season with 33 straight victories.

"I just appreciate all the support Ian and I have received from the Topeka tennis community, the Topeka Tennis Association -- we've had scholarships with them for a long time -- and all the coaches at Genesis Wood Valley," Miles said. "They've all been great to us and it's been fundamental to our success. We couldn't have done it without all these people."

The Cusicks' title helped lead West to a runner-up team finish. The Chargers also got a sixth from the doubles team of Carter Cool and Gavin Chavez.

 

MAIZE SOUTH DELIVERS FIRST STATE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

A key figure on Valley Center's 2018 Class 5A state championship team, Ian Clifton was intent on instilling that mentality when he took over as Maize South's head coach this spring.

A foundation was already there with the Mavericks finishing runner-up to Salina Central by just three points at the 2021 Class 5A state tournament and returning several key performers from that squad. But Clifton wanted to drive home the fact that a state title was THE goal this season.

"From the first day of practice, we talked about it," he said. "The very first day I got the job I came in and said, 'Hey, we're going to win everything.' That was our goal and what we've been planning on all season."

The Mavericks delivered in a big way over the weekend at Topeka's Kossover Tennis Center. Getting top-nine finishes from three of its four entries, Maize South finished with 33 points to claim the program's first state title. Topeka West was second with 27 points and Blue Valley Southwest was third with 25 points.

The team title was a nice consolation for the Maverick doubles team of Grayson Wright and Mitchell Krumm. Entering the tourney as the No. 1 overall seed, the duo saw their bid for a state championship end with a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Topeka West's Ian and Miles Cusick in the doubles finals. Wright and Krumm had beaten the West duo twice early in the second, but never got much momentum in the finals rematch after winning their first three matches in straight sets, including a 6-2, 6-4 win over Arkansas City's Oakley and Dawson O'Donnell in the semifinals.

It was the second straight runner-up doubles finish for Wright, who teamed with his older brother Garrison last season, losing to Salina Central's Reed McHenry and Max Shaffer in the finals.

Harris Kossover -- playing at the facility named for his grandparents -- added a third-place finish in singles, while the duo of Hudson Grizzell and Noah Rodriguez took ninth in doubles. Both entries posted big victories that proved huge in the team race with Kossover outlasting Blue Valley Southwest's Sanjay Rajkumar 7-5, 6-7, 6-2 in a marathon three-and-a-half-hour quarterfinal match and Grizzell and Rodriguez upsetting Southwest's Bentley Pearson and Nick Hohman 6-3, 6-4 in the second round.

"I told them before the day, 'Play for yourselves and everything will come together for the team,'" Clifton said. "We all won the matches we needed to win and when we lost, we moved forward and kept going. It was awesome to see."