TENNIS State-bound players runners-up

Howland's Ryan Trapp and Liberty's Ryan Baroff just missed qualifying for state.
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ROCKY RIVER -- Canfield's Kevin Kuppler and Matt Waigand had a state tournament bid all but wrapped up at last year's Division I district tennis tournament.
After winning the first set of the qualifying match against Avon Lake, they took a 5-1 lead in the second set and seemed to be in control.
Then a crummy thing happened. They lost.
"As soon as the match ended, we knew we were going to go doubles again this year," said Kuppler. "We just wanted to get to state."
Runners-up
They made it easy on themselves this week, winning their two matches on Thursday at the first day of Division I tournament at Tri-City Courts in Rocky River to automatically qualify for Columbus.
"We were really relieved we didn't have to qualify [on the second day]," Kuppler said.
On Saturday, they won their first match against Akron Firestone's Nick Davis and Rob Dennis (7-6, 3-6, 6-3) before falling to Wooster's Bart Schneck and A.J. Wilson in the final (6-3, 6-2).
"Obviously, we're happy," Kuppler said. "The first match we played a little tight and a little nervous. But the second match, we had nothing to lose. We really played well, we just didn't win the big points. That was the difference.
"The score doesn't reflect how close it was."
The Cardinals also lost to Wooster in last week's sectional final in Canton.
"We were joking around with them, saying we hope to have another meeting in the state final," Kuppler said.
Kuppler's older brother, Chris, qualified for last year's state singles tournament after finishing second in the state doubles tournament with Shalin Shah in 2001.
"I played with [Chris] a little bit last year," Kuppler said. "He's just a good person to hit with. He calms us down and he encourages us."
Kuppler and Waigand played in Columbus as freshmen when the Cardinals advanced as a team. They don't have any specific goals, Kuppler said, but they would like to win their first match.
"After that, we're just going to take it one match at a time," Kuppler said. "It's been a huge goal for us and it's a huge accomplishment to get there. We still expect some big things, but we want to make sure we have fun while we're down there."
Salcedo runner-up
Boardman freshman Bryant Salcedo, the tournament's top-seeded singles player, lost to Chardon's David Rozek, 6-7, 6-0, 7-5, in Saturday's final.
Salcedo, who won his two Thursday matches, easily won his first match on Saturday against Westlake's Brad Noel, 6-0, 6-2.
Howland senior Ryan Trapp, a two-time state doubles qualifier, lost to Firestone's James Daly in the consolation bracket to just miss earning a state tournament berth.
The top six singles and doubles teams advanced.
In Division II, Liberty's Ryan Baroff lost his first match in the consolation bracket to miss qualifying for the state tournament.