Mount Vernon girls’ tennis rolls into regional

INDEPENDENCE – They knew it was possible, but no one dared say it out loud beforehand.

After all, there were no girls' tennis conference banners hanging in the Mount Vernon gymnasium. Western Dubuque had long cornered the market in the Wamac, but Monday brought a breakthrough when the Mustangs won the first girls' tennis conference team title in school history.

'You go in there with the hopes of competing with Western Dubuque, they win all the time,' ninth-year Mount Vernon Coach Crystal Eskelsen said. 'It was just fun to be a part of.'

Mount Vernon (10-2) is eager to see just how far the fun can go Saturday when it opens Class 1A team regional play with a 9 a.m. dual at host Independence. The winner faces either Marion or Cedar Rapids Xavier at 1 p.m. for a berth in a regional final.

'It just lets us know that it's possible,' Mount Vernon senior Mallory Scieszinski said. 'We just know that we can break through that ceiling.'

The Mustangs offered further validation of a new day in the Wamac by handing Western Dubuque its first conference dual loss in five years, 7-2, Thursday at the Cornell College courts.

Junior Wynne Vandersall has elevated her game to the No. 1 singles slot after an ankle injury to senior Isabella Logan. Vandersall won the Wamac No. 1 singles title, then teamed with older sister Josiah Vandersall for the top doubles crown.

'Like Coach said a million times, 'Just stay patient,'' Wynne Vandersall said. 'I really wanted to win as a team, so I wasn't nervous about my individual game because I was thinking about it on a bigger scheme.'

The opportunity for the sisters to team up as doubles partners almost did not come to fruition after music commitments nearly derailed Josia's participation.

'That's kind of the reason I came back,' Josia Vandersall said. 'I wasn't going to do tennis this year, but I decided I wanted to play with my sister one last year.'

Mount Vernon's leap to the top of the Wamac was the product of both the aforementioned patience and significant experience, evidenced by a lineup made up exclusively of juniors and seniors. All six members of the primary lineup claimed either a conference singles or doubles title and finished no worse than runner-up in both.

'It meant a lot,' Wynne Vandersall said. 'Last year I won at No. 3 (singles) and that was really cool, but this year there is no one else that was above so it's amazing, too.'

Juniors Brittney Darrow and Katie Wycoff won Wamac singles titles at spots five and six, while Scieszinski and Logan claimed the No. 2 doubles crown.

'Even starting from freshman year, we've grown so much,' Logan said. 'This year it's really shown through.'

Western Dubuque hosts a 2A team regional Saturday, as do Metro schools Prairie and Washington. Jefferson is at Waterloo West.

Preliminary substate boys' tennis duals also begin Saturday. In Class 1A, Xavier is at Dubuque Wahlert, while Oelwein visits Waterloo Columbus. Kennedy hosts Dubuque Senior in 2A and Iowa City High travels to Bettendorf.

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