INDEPENDENCE -- Fort Scott High School senior Stephen Buntain has qualified for the Class 4A State Tournament for the second consecutive season. He advanced as the fourth-place finisher in singles play at the Independence Class 4A Sub-State Tournament Friday afternoon.

Buntain qualified in doubles with Bryce Hart last season. This year, he has a 26-10 record in singles play.

Buntain was the No. 4 seed in the Sub-State and won his first-round match over No. 5 Christian White of Fredonia, 6-0, 6-1. That win assured he would finish in the top four and qualify for State. In his next match, he faced the top seed, Dan Porter of Independence and fell, 6-2, 6-0.

The third-place match was a rematch of Thursday's Regional Tournament final at Fort Scott, which Iola's Kent Toland won. Friday, as the No. 3 seed, Toland also won the rematch, 6-2, 7-5.

"With this new format, the (Sub-State) tournament is always going to be a tough one when you eliminate it down to the top eight teams or players and this was the case," Fort Scott head coach Lynn Barr said.

"Stephen came out and played a very solid match against (White). We hadn't seen this player all year but had heard a little about him. Stephen really took charge early and was in control throughout the match."

Once he was assured of a State berth, Buntain faced familiar foes in Porter and Toland.

"Against Porter, Stephen played some good tennis," Barr said. "But Porter is a very talented player and was just too tough. The match against Toland was again a match between two very good players. But Toland was able to come out with the win."

Gabe Quick and Brian Gorman (16-14) represented Fort Scott in the doubles bracket. They had to face the top-seeded team from Independence in the first round but Sam Schroeder and Adam Greenhaw came away with a 6-0, 6-2 win.

"Gabe and Brian have had a good season for two first-year players," Barr said. "They have showed improvement all season and, although they had to face the top-seeded team in the first round, just advancing to that point was a good accomplishment. There were several other teams that would have been happy to have been in that situation. They played some good tennis but Schroeder and Greenhaw are a very experienced team."

The Class 4A State Tournament will be held this weekend at Prairie Village. Buntain and Hart finished second in doubles last season.

"I'm really happy for Stephen for getting the opportunity to close out his high-school career with another trip to the State Tournament," Barr said. "He has had an excellent tennis career and a trip to State will be an excellent way to wrap up his career regardless of the outcome at that tournament. He has played varsity for us since coming into the program as a freshman and has done a great job for us throughout his career."