How one match positioned Maize South boys tennis to chase a 5A team title
The championship hopes of the Maize South boys tennis team may have turned on one match last weekend.
Not Evan Goates, the defending Class 5A singles champion and the headliner of a loaded team. Not one of the two doubles teams that have helped the Mavericks build the depth of a contender.
It was Landon Cook, a first-year varsity regular, standing in the consolation side of a rugged regional bracket at Andover Central with his season — and Maize South’s only real chance at a team state title — hanging in the balance.
The Mavericks had looked at the bracket beforehand and figured it might come down to Cook needing to beat Andover Central’s Elias Kachelmeier in a winner-to-state match. That is exactly what happened. Cook delivered, winning 6-3, 6-2 in a match that was far tighter than the final score suggested.
With that victory, Maize South became the only team from the regional to qualify all four entries to the Class 5A state tournament, which begins Friday at the Andover District Tennis Complex.
“We knew the key for us to have any chance to even compete for a state title is to get Landon Cook through to state,” Maize South coach Frank Reyes said. “He has put a ton of work into his game to get better. He has gone out there and proven himself all year. It felt so good to see him get rewarded after all of the time he has put on the court this year to get to that point.”
That one win helped turn Maize South from a dangerous team into a legitimate title threat. On paper, the margin looks razor thin for the 5A team race. If the seeds hold, Maize South and Carroll would both score 35 points at state. But the paths are different.
Carroll has the favorites in two spots: sophomore Brandon Steven, the No. 1 seed in singles, and the doubles team of senior Gabe Weber and sophomore Braeden Dugan, the No. 1 seed in doubles. Maize South has more volume with all four entries in the field, plus room to outperform its seeds.
Cook enters as the No. 7 seed in singles with a 26-10 record. Goates is the No. 2 seed at 31-2. The senior doubles team of Jacob Kurniadi and Tucker Lowe is seeded seventh at 26-8, while senior Preston Heard and sophomore Jack Pringle are seeded 10th at 27-10.
That depth is why Cook’s qualification mattered so much. If his seed holds, he would give Maize South eight points, the kind of boost it needed to try to offset Carroll’s championship-level firepower in both brackets.
“This is definitely the best team I’ve had,” said Reyes, who is in his third season. “Not even just from a skill level, but from their ability to come together as a team and achieve a goal. These guys have all been out here hitting extra serves, staying late to play more sets against each other after practice. The entire environment of this team has been so awesome.”
The Mavericks have been building toward this kind of weekend.
Goates gives them a proven title contender at the top after winning the 5A singles championship last season. Cook has emerged as a reliable second singles player with all 10 of his losses this season coming against players seeded ahead of him at state. Kurniadi and Lowe reached the regional doubles final after a crucial 6-4, 6-4 semifinal win over Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Andrew and Johnny Korfhage. Heard and Pringle finished fourth at the regional to give Maize South its second state doubles team.
That doubles depth has changed Maize South’s ceiling. Lowe and Heard both played on doubles teams last year that did not qualify for state, giving them a little extra motivation this spring. Now the Mavericks have two doubles teams good enough to score at state and good enough to push each other in practice every day.
The biggest potential showdown remains at the end of the singles bracket.
Goates and Steven have split four meetings this season, continuing a rivalry that has become one of the best examples of the level of tennis being played in Wichita. Goates won the first two meetings this season, but Steven has answered by winning the last two, including a 6-3, 7-6 (6) victory in the regional final.
They are the top two seeds at state, which means a fifth meeting could come in Saturday’s championship match. If it happens, more than an individual title could be on the line. With Maize South and Carroll projected so closely in the team race, the two-point swing between first and second place could help decide the championship.
“It’s some of the best tennis that you’re going to see,” Reyes said of the Steven-Goates rivalry. “Brandon is such a good player. He is able to push Evan like no one else can. It’s so exciting to watch every single time they get together, so hopefully we get another one in the final because that would be absolutely electric.”
Carroll is chasing the first boys tennis state championship in its storied program history after finishing second in 2025 and 2016 and third in 2017, 2007 and 2006. The Golden Eagles are positioned as well as they have ever been with the No. 1 seed in both brackets. Meanwhile, the Mavericks are looking for their second team championship after winning the 5A title in 2022.
Even after beating Carroll at regionals, Reyes said the Mavericks are taking an underdog mentality to the state meet.
“They definitely don’t think of themselves as the favorites,” Reyes said. “They still are coming into this weekend like we have something to prove. So that’s our mindset: we’ve got to prove something.”
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