Weather slows Kansas 6A state tennis tournament

The Kansas 6A boys state tennis tournament got through the majority of two rounds before succumbing to a weather delay Friday, pushing the rest of the action to Saturday.

A 10-minute rain delay in the afternoon was followed by another stop in the action at around 3:40 p.m., when lightning moved into the area around Harmon Park, and players and coaches gathered in Shawnee Mission East’s nearby gym for two hours. By 5:45 p.m. the sun reappeared, but puddles of water had gathered on the courts, and storm clouds were still rolling in.

“We were still sitting with lightning at eight-tenths of a mile away,” said Kelli Kurle, athletic director at tournament host Shawnee Mission East. “By the time the lightning was gone, and by the time we squeegeed all this water off the court, maybe 8 or 8:30 (p.m.) would be a good estimate of when we could start, and kids (would) have been sitting for three-plus hours.”

The final eight of the singles tournament were set before the delay, including two of the favorites — undefeated Max Kurzban of Blue Valley West and Shawnee Mission East’s Jack Santilli.

Meanwhile, Olathe Northwest’s Cutter Sanders, who came into state with a 22-3 record and a regional crown, received a bye into the second round, but dropped his first match. Blue Valley Northwest’s James Lowe upset Sanders.

Singles play resumes Saturday with the quarterfinals. The semifinals and championship game are also still scheduled for Saturday, so a state champion would have to win three matches in one day.

Similarly, seven of the final eight doubles teams are set, with one second-round match still undecided. Four of those seven teams are from the Blue Valley district. Also included are Reagan Walsh and Tyler Garland from Shawnee Mission Northwest, a team that has only lost once this year.

Saturday’s matches at Harmon Park in Prairie Village will begin at 8 a.m., an hour earlier than originally scheduled.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 7:41 PM with the headline "Weather slows Kansas 6A state tennis tournament."