As the 6A State girls tennis unfolded, Manhattan High seniors Lexi Bieker and Cathy Lei competed against girls from all over the region. However, with the regions switched, it made the tournament a little tougher.

With a 2-2 record, Lei finished with a tough draw against Sarah Wilcox from Shawnee Mission East, a win against a girl from Garden City and a loss against a girl from Olathe North.

“I played fine but I just had a tough draw,” Lei said. “I definitely lost to people that I should’ve lost to, there’s no shame in that. But I played them way too early. Because what happened was the region got switched so that so that kind of screwed over the one and two of our regions.”

Lei qualified for State all four years, yet this year’s atmosphere felt a little different.

“[Being there] with coach Ingram and Lexi, we got to bond and it was just fun to be there,” Lei said. “This season I’ve accomplished everything I could’ve. And last year I got eighth, which is probably the best I could’ve done this year anyway. I made my mark so it’s OK.”

With gratitude to all of her teachers and friends that wished her the best, Lei finished her career.

“Cathy has had a tremendous tennis career at MHS and I could say one of the most successful careers ever,” coach Tony Ingram said.

With her goal accomplished, Bieker took on State with an unexpected turnout. She had not played tennis competitively in three years.

“Lexi’s goal was to make it to State and she accomplished that goal,” Ingram said. “It was exciting to watch her have success, as the State tournament unfolded and made it to the second day going 3-1 on Friday. She improved as the tournament progressed and finished respectively 12th.”

Bieker played against girls from all over the region that had a lot of training and experience.

“The best part was from my last match on the friday to actually qualify me for the second day,” Bieker said. “Because it was kind of a tighter match and I did not think I was going to win it.”

Bieker finished 12th respectively. With coach Ingram and Lei to thank for her improvement, she brings her medal home ending her first year of tennis.