Vashon High School senior Max Burnham placed fifth in the state 1A singles tennis tournament in Yakima on Saturday.

He made it to the singles semifinals by defeating two opponents on Friday: Grant Evans of St. Georges (Spokane) and Cody Dunbar of Zillah. The three-set match against Dunbar was played under grueling conditions. The temperature in Yakima was 98 degrees, but on-court temperatures rose to 105 degrees.

“I had to take more breaks between games and drink a lot more water than usual,” Burnham said.

In his semifinals match on Saturday, Max lost to Cascade Christian’s Nathan Anderson and then to Seth Gibbons of La Salle (Yakima) to place fifth in state.

Burnham is “totally ace,” said his coach Jake Dillon — an athlete who never missed a practice and set a good example for his teammates.

“I coached Max for three years, and he just kept improving,” Dillon said. “He represented his school with outstanding sportsmanship and class. I’ve considered it an honor to coach him.”