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Chris Fotopoulos of SM East hopes to join his father, grandfather and aunt as Kansas state high school tennis champions.
Three of them — his father, Sam, grandfather John and aunt Carrie Barnthouse — won Kansas state tennis titles. Fotopoulos hopes to follow in their footsteps and win one this year.
However, Fotopoulos knows that’s easier said than done — especially when your body refuses to cooperate. Since his freshman season when he finished third at the Kansas 6A state tournament, Fotopoulos has dealt with a rash of nagging injuries that have sabotaged his quest for a state title.
“Last year was just a huge disappointment for me,” said Fotopoulos, who will be going for his first state title at the 6A state tennis tournament, which starts today in Goddard.
“I kind of felt like I wasn’t able to give 100 percent in every match — I felt like I was going out and playing with a hand tied behind my back.”
By the time state rolled around last year, he might as well have been. Fotopoulos’ problems started early on as a sophomore, when a case of shin splints got progressively worse throughout the season. They were constant pain, and affected him at the semifinal match at regionals.
His problems were compounded midway through the first set of his first match at the state tournament, when Fotopoulos noticed something else was wrong.
“I got tired a lot quicker than I normally do,” Fotopoulos said. “Halfway through the first set I was already sucking air. I had to blow my nose a lot, wasn’t able to take deep breaths.”
Fotopoulos fought through it, even making it to the state semifinals. He ended up losing to Richardson in the semifinals and J.T. Christian of Olathe Northwest in the consolation match.
It wasn’t until after the state tournament that Fotopoulos found out that he had allergy-induced asthma, which makes it difficult to breathe.
He found an allergy medication during the summer that eased the symptoms. He also made a point of it to get some rest, even taking a few weeks off to allow the shin splints to heal.
It helped. The shin splints disappeared. And by winter, his asthma problems started clearing up.
And this season, aside from a minor foot injury he suffered in mid-April, Fotopoulos has managed to stay relatively injury-free.
He’s gone 17-4 this year, with all his losses coming against state qualifiers.
SM East coach Susan Chipman hopes his best play comes this weekend.
“I don’t think I’ve seen him play his best yet this season,” Chipman said. “I’m hoping we’ll see that happen this weekend.”
Fotopoulos hopes so, too. While several members of his family came out to watch his regional singles title match, which he ended up losing 6-1, 6-1, to BV North freshman Jack Sock, Fotopoulos expects more of his family to be in Goddard for state.
“They’ll all be coming, except for (my grandfather) and my aunt,” Fotopoulos said. “My mom’s side of the family will be there, too. I’ll definitely have some people there I need to impress.”
With that, Fotopoulos laughs. With his foot almost 100 percent healed and his asthma under control, Fotopoulos is just thankful he should be healthy enough to have a fighting chance.
•6A: At Eisenhower Middle School in Goddard, Kan.
•5A: At Wulz Riverside Tennis Center, Wichita
•4A: At Harmon Park Tennis Center, Prairie Village
•3A-1A: At Wichita State Tennis Center
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