Indians repeat WAC boys tennis crown, POY award
When Kayla Brown assumed the head coaching position at Hays High School in the fall of 2019, she had little illusion of what she faced.
It had been several years since the Indians had put together competitive teams. It was like coming in to design something new and see how long it would take to come to fruition.
The first boys’ season for Brown at the helm – spring 2020 – turned out to be the COVID-19 spring of no high school sports.
It took Brown just five years to build the Indians’ boys squad into a winner, capturing the 2024 Western Athletic Conference title in a rare sweep of all 16 matches in the 4 divisions of 2 singles and 2 doubles.
To follow that up, however, was going to take some work as Brown graduated four seniors from that squad, including Player of the Year Colin Clark.
Brown, though, accomplished her goal in what became her sixth and final season as head coach of the Indians on Monday (May 5) when her squad won both singles titles, tied for first in No. 1 doubles and placed third in No. 2 doubles to tally 13 points, good enough for a two-point triumph over Dodge City.
For her guidance of the championship team, Brown was voted WAC Coach of the Year.
It was perhaps a fitting ending to what had become a successful build of a program that had seen little success prior to her arrival.
The Hays High boys had not won a WAC title since 2002 when they captured the ‘24 crown and it had been 1986 when they won their only other championship.
This one, it seems, was as satisfying as the team crown of ‘24 when they won every single match.
“A year ago, we knew going in that we had a great chance to win, and the boys made it a mission to win all their matches, and they did,” Brown recalled. “This time round, I knew it would be tougher.”
She moved Kale Schwien from playing No. 1 doubles into the No. 1 slot. She kept Ken Shaffer at No. 2 singles after he won that division as a junior. It was the doubles squads, however, that presented the challenge.
Preston Parr and Mason Schleicher earned the No. 1 doubles positions while Christian Miller and Madox Zimmerman took over at No. 2. All are seniors.
“I think when we saw all the WAC teams at the Garden City meet (April 28), I knew it would be a much closer race to win,” Brown said. “I felt really good about our singles players, but I knew the doubles teams were so much more evenly balanced this time.”
Her assessment was correct as both Schwien and Shaffer went 4-0. The No. 1 squad of Parr and Schleicher went 3-1, losing to Liberal, but defeating Dodge City and tied with Liberal for the top spot.
Schwien, who sports a 21-6 record, was voted WAC Player of the Year. Shaffer concluded the regular season at 20-8.
“There was no doubt the No. 1 division (doubles) was evenly stacked,” Brown said. “Even Garden City and Great Bend teams were competitive. It was easy to see that if we won it would not be by a large margin.”
Brown, who plans to continue her teaching at Hays High, knew all along that this would be her swan song – at least for now.
“Just beginning to think about starting a family and there are other things with different priorities, and I needed to take a break from the commitment of coaching two sports in two seasons,” Brown said of her resignation. “It just felt it was the right time.”
One of the principal objectives Brown has had is to build from the freshman to the senior classes each year. Thus, of her 25 to 30 players out, the mix of players from each class is roughly the same.
“I don’t get too involved in where the players decide to play – singles or doubles – it is better to let them have some say about that,” she said. “By the time they are juniors and seniors most of them have played both, so it becomes do I want to play alone or play with someone else.”
In a twist of irony, her current No. 1 doubles team of Parr and Schleicher, who finished the regular season with a 20-8 won-loss record, have played together all four years.
“It’s important for them to figure out whether they are better singles or doubles players,” Brown said. “If you let them have input, they are going to be better team players.”
Although all six of this year’s varsity players will graduate, many underclassmen saw some varsity competition throughout the season when Brown scheduled tournaments for them to play against other varsity players.
“We’ve got four juniors, a few sophomores who played some varsity and a good group of freshmen who stomped most of the other JV teams we played,” Brown said. “I think the program is in good shape. It’s not like I’m leaving town. If I can be of help, I’ll be around. It’s a good way to step aside for now.”
Kale Schwien/Hays High/Sr. — WAC Player of the Year
As soon as the 2024 spring tennis season was completed with the Hays High Indians claiming its first Western Athletic Conference team title in more than two decades, then junior and senior-to-be Kale Schwien made a critical decision for his upcoming final high school season.
Schwien had been paired to play doubles in each of his sophomore and junior seasons, but felt it was time to make the switch to singles for his senior year.
“I liked play doubles, but I think my game is better suited for singles,” said Schwien, who went 4-0 to capture the No. 1 doubles title at the 2025 WAC championship on May 5 in Dodge City. “I just felt like I had a chance to go further in singles than in doubles.”
For a player who is in just his third season of competition, Schwien made the adjustment quite smoothly, compiling a 21-6 record during the regular season.
“Playing singles, you have to believe in yourself and keep your mind right,” Schwien said. “If you get down on yourself, you don’t have anyone else to pick you up, so keeping the right mindset can give you a chance for a comeback if you are in a big deficit.”
Schwien maintains that hitting the main ground strokes in singles is much easier than in doubles, due in part to the ability to use the entire net and court width to his advantage.
“In doubles, you have to be aware of where your partner is at the net as well as your opponents on the opposite side,” Schwien said. “In singles, I just have to focus on one person on the other side.”
At 6-feet-7-inches tall, Schwien counts on a booming first serve and a solid second serve with spin to put his opponents on their heels.
“It’s my biggest advantage because I don’t change the speed of my second serves, but I change the way I spin the ball,” he said. “In singles, you always have to be ready to play a shot and I think returns are just easier when I can use the whole court.”
With a stroke forehand stroke, Schwien says he uses his backhand as more of a placement shot than for producing winners.
“It’s a stable shot for me, I would not say I hit a lot of winners with it,” Schwien said. “But I can rely on it for setting up the next shot.”
Winning the WAC as a senior caps off three years of making all-WAC first team after doing so in doubles both in his sophomore and junior seasons.
“This time, it was pretty cool to do it in singles,” Schwien said.
A year ago, he had seen his teammate, Colin Clark, win the WAC Player of the Year, so the plan began to be formulated 12 months ago to pursue the same accomplishment.
“It’s exciting to see the banners of our team winning that hang in the gym, so it will be nice to know we’re adding another one,” Schwien said. “It’s cool to be part of history in which it had never been done.”
The icing on the cake came when his sophomore doubles partner, Ken Shaffer, also went 4-0 to claim the No. 2 doubles title to earn all-WAC first team honors.
“It was really cool that we could this as teammates,” Schwien said.
His future for collegiate tennis remains up in the air, he said.
“Right now, I’m planning to attend Fort Hays State University,” said Schwien, who plans to study criminal justice. “They don’t have a men’s tennis program, so if I were to play college tennis it would have to be a school that has a criminal justice academic degree for me as well as a good tennis program.”
“I’ve had a few offers, but the main thing for me now is the academic degree,” Schwien said.
Western Athletic Conference Championship
Monday, May 5 – Dodge City High School
Team Scores
1. Hays, 13; 2. Dodge City, 11; 3. Liberal, 8; 4. Garden City, 7; 5. Great Bend, 1.
Singles Results
No. 1–1. Kale Schwien, Hays, 4-0; 2. Zane Storer, Garden City, 3-1; 3. Kevin Navarrete, Dodge City, 2-2; 4. Diego Flores, Liberal, 1-3; 5. Open (No entry).
No. 2–1. Ken Shaffer, Hays, 4-0; 2. Edgar Varela, Dodge City, 3-1; 3. Kevin Nguyen, Garden City, 2-2; 4. Jacob Parks, Great Bend, 1-3; 5. J’Kobe Contreras, Liberal, 0-4.
Doubles Results
No. 1–T1. Preston Parr/Mason Schleicher, Hays; Emmanuel Garcia/Miguel Ovalle, Liberal; Alex Gonzalez/Daniel Velasquez, Liberal; all went 3-1; 4. Ashton Palmer/Lachlan James, Garden City, 1-3; 5. Kai Britt/Chason Ramsey, Great Bend, 0-4.
No. 2–1. Parker Brown/Quinn Brown, Liberal, 4-0; 2. Peter Bui/Alan Vazquez, Dodge City, 3-1; 3. Christian Miller/Madox Zimmerman, Hays, 2-2; 4. Ezayen Deatherage/Braidyn Orebaugh, Garden City, 1-3; 5. Aaron Ramirez/Manuel Alba Gamon, Great Bend, 0-4.
Note: Individual singles winners in No. 1 and No. 2 along with winning teams in doubles are members of the 2025 all-WAC first team.
