Central Plains High School will be sending its entire boys’ tennis team to the Class 3-1A state tournament, which starts today at Hillsboro Sports Complex.
The two-day competition will start at 11:30 today. Saturday matches start at 9 a.m.
Sophomore Layne Bieberle leads a young Oilers team. He hasn’t lost a match all season, entering today’s meet with a 30-0 record as Central Plains’ No. 1 singles player.
Bieberle won a regional title last weekend.
Michael Ryan, a freshman who was runner-up in regional action, is the No. 2 singles player for the Oilers. He has a record of 25-5.
Meritt Hammeke, the only junior on the team for Central Plains, and Carson Kirmer, a sophomore, combined for a 21-9 record and won a doubles regional title.
Sophomores Matt Demel and Michael Lamatsch went 25-7 as the Oilers’ No. 2 doubles team.
Along with Central Plains, there are two other athletes from the area to qualify for the state meet — Ellinwood’s Marc Wait and Hoisington’s Evan Smith.
Waite finished third at a regional tournament at Trego Community in WaKeeney.
The Ellinwood sophomore has a 16-9 record heading into today’s state meet.
Smith, a junior from Hoisington, finished fourth at a regional tournament to qualify for the state meet.
Smith brings a record of 16-18.
Pairings will be decided during a coaches meeting before the tournament begins.