WATERLOO - Lane Luhring has shown an ability to adapt to his opposition. Aplington-Parkersburg's returning state tennis qualifier has also handled plenty of changes on his own side of the net.

Throughout the past two years, Luhring has gone through the type of growth spurt that could inspire his own Goodwill clothing line. Once a 5-foot-5, 105-pound freshman, he now stands as a 6-1, 160-pound junior.

Luhring's growth on the tennis court has matched his physical gains. He'll take an 18-0 singles record into the Class 1A state tournament beginning Friday at Byrnes Park in Waterloo.

"My freshman year, I was pretty much like a brick wall," Luhring recalled. "I just tried getting everything back and letting my opponent make mistakes."

"Now, if they give me a shorter ball, I'll try attacking it and putting the ball away quicker."

Luhring, who's grown more than three inches each of the past two years, placed eighth last season. A tough draw had him paired against eventual champion Sean Mathison in the first round.

The Falcons' junior has seen plenty of court time since then. He played a 15-tournament summer schedule and took lessons at Waterloo's Black Hawk Tennis Center over the winter.

"He's made tremendous strides in hitting," coach Jon Wiegmann said. "He always was a fairly good hitter, but he's just gotten that much more dominant."

Luhring's composure has also developed.

"With experience, you just sort of mature on the court a little bit," Wiegmann added. "That's one of Lane's best attributes - he figures out ways to win. He reads his opponents."

Luhring will have plenty of competition at this year's state tournament. Former state doubles champions Jim Nora of Waterloo Columbus and Carter Giese of Dubuque Wahlert each made the move to singles.

Giese is likely to earn the tournament's top seed. The Golden Eagles senior has a 76-2 career record, playing mostly against Class 2A competition.

After Giese, the next three seeds could be up for grabs. Luhring defeated Nora in a super-tiebreaker at the beginning of the season. That win over the district champion might have clinched his place in the top four.

In the 1A doubles race, Wahlert's Michael Runde and Jon Moore took third last spring and are contenders for the top seed.

In Class 2A's state tournament at Veteran's Memorial Tennis Center in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines Roosevelt senior Charlie Caris will be attempting to become the third three-time singles champion in the sport's 81-year history.

Defending 2A doubles champion David DeSimone of Bettendorf is teamed up with new partner Kyle Johnson. The duo is 19-1.

Waterloo West will be well-represented in the 2A doubles tournament, while Columbus will send an experienced duo into the 1A competition. Here's the area outlook:

Class 2A

At Cedar Rapids

Waterloo West: After playing together in last year's state tournament, Wahawks senior Jordan Harbaugh-Williams and junior Andy Richter will take new partners into this year's competition. Richter is paired with fellow junior DJ Grant, while Harbaugh-Williams and senior John Puk will compete together.

"We just kind of switched things up this year," West coach Laura Christensen said. "They've got a lot of experience. Now, it's just a matter of using that experience to help them get a victory."

Richer and Grant are district champions with a 4-5 record, while Harbaugh-Williams and Puk finished runner-up and are 6-6.

Class 1A

At Byrnes Park

Columbus: Jim Nora knows what it takes to succeed in this tournament. He won a state doubles title in 2007 and finished runner-up last season, playing alongside his brother, Joe. Now, Nora will pursue some singles hardware. The district champion is 10-3 this season and 31-5 during his career.

"There's some very, very tough competition, but I think he's looking forward to it," coach Jim Berry said. "He has a shot against about anybody he plays."

In doubles, brothers Michael and Casey Goerdt will make a return trip to state. Playing soccer has limited their number of competitive matches. The duo is 6-1 this season.

"They have really improved since last year, and they were pretty good last year," Berry said. "They just need to play together and make sure they help each other out. … They have a chance themselves, I think."

Decorah: Seniors Sean Brown and Lance Loney defeated the Goerdt brothers in the district finals. Coach Reginald Laursen put the pair together just in time for the postseason, and they have a 3-1 record.

Independence: Juniors Hyder Chowdhry and Adam Gustafson were paired together late in the season and finished as district runners-up to Dubuque Wahlert's top duo. The Mustangs' combination is 6-2 with a narrow 6-3, 7-6 loss in the district finals. Chowdhry qualified for state in doubles as a freshman.

"They're just peaking at the right time," Independence coach David Morkel said. "I think we've seen some of the tough competition throughout the state and we have played tough with them."