Clutch return helps deliver Iowa City High’s Joe Hoff to state semifinals

CEDAR RAPIDS — Joe Hoff watched as his opponent brought forth an emphatic overhand, punctuated with an exuberant shout of, 'Come on!'

It was a crucial moment in the opening set of a Class 2A singles quarterfinal match between the Iowa City High junior and third-seeded Jackson Guilford of Indianola.

Deadlocked at 7-7 in a first-set tiebreaker, Hoff rendered Guilford's celebration premature with an extension of his right hand, which was just enough for his racquet to connect and arch the ball back over the staggered Drake signee and find solace in front of the baseline.

'Honestly, that was pretty lucky on my part,' said Hoff, who advanced to the boys' tennis state semifinals, 7-6 (9-7), 6-1, Friday at Veterans Memorial Tennis Center in Cedar Rapids. 'I kind of just stuck my racquet out and it hit it, hit the racquet and it was very surprising. I thought I was going to lose the point right when I gave him the overhead. All fireworks went through my mind when I ended up getting a racquet on it and hitting it over his head.'

The crucial tiebreaker point delivered Hoff, and not Guilford, to set point, and from there it was a whitewash as Hoff not only collected the set point, but defended Guilford's devastating backhand and won six of seven games in the second set.

'Obviously a lot of pressure was taken off because the first set was just so long,' Hoff said. 'There was so much pressure for such a long amount of time. After getting that first set, I was able to re-set myself, big relief of the butterflies in the stomach and I was able to just keep grinding through the second set.'

Hoff will face Fort Dodge junior Jonny Bowser in a semifinal Saturday at 10 a.m. Bowser ousted Cedar Rapids Kennedy sophomore Rami Hemaidan, 6-4, 6-2, in a quarterfinal.

Defending 2A singles state champion Jiung Jung of Iowa City West will match up with West Des Moines Valley senior Yasha Litvak – a 7-6, 6-2 quarterfinal winner over Cedar Rapids Washington freshman Rami Scheetz – in the other singles semifinal.

The semifinal winners will meet in the state championship match Saturday at 2 p.m.

Jung – the top seed in singles – was one of three Trojans to reach the semifinals as the West doubles team of Cole Schneider and Jack Wenzel posted comfortable victories over teams from Urbandale and West Des Moines Dowling.

'We've just worked really hard and it's paid off,' Wenzel said. 'Just really attacking well, playing well together, too.'

Wenzel and Schneider – seeded third in the bracket – will face two-seed Gus Zuccaro and Jacob Mozena of Dubuque Senior, who placed third in doubles at state last season.

'We came in focused and ready to go,' Schneider said. 'I think we'll be ready.'

The Linn-Mar doubles duo of Ben Hediger and Lucas Huffman scored a 6-3, 6-2 opening round win over the fourth-seeded doubles pair from Mason City before falling in the quarterfinal, 7-6, 7-5, to Bettendorf's Isaac Luebke and Yash Singh.

The tournament concludes Saturday at Veterans Memorial Tennis Center.

CLASS 2A BOYS' TENNIS STATE TOURNAMENT

At Cedar Rapids

(Veterans Memorial Tennis Center)

SINGLES

First round —

No. 1 Jiung Jung (Iowa City West) def. Henry Gunderson (Des Moines Roosevelt), 6-1, 6-0; No. 2 Jonny Bowser (Fort Dodge) def. Tim Ellis (Ames), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4; No. 3 Jackson Guilford (Indianola) def. Zach Ray (Ottumwa), 7-5, 6-1; Yasha Litvak (West Des Moines Valley) def. No. 4 Vineel Mallavarapu, 6-3, 6-1; Joel Heil (Johnston) def. Shane Skvor (Linn-Mar), 6-2, 6-0; Rami Scheetz (Cedar Rapids Washington) def. Jarrett Benson (West Des Moines Dowling), 6-2, 6-3; Joe Hoff (Iowa City High) def. Kyle Crowl (Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln), 6-3, 6-2; Rami Hemaidan (Cedar Rapids Kennedy) def. Joseph Shie (Davenport Central), 6-1, 6-3.

Quarterfinals —

No. 1 Jung (ICW) def. Heil (Johnston), 6-2, 6-1; Hoff (Iowa City High) def. No. 3 Guilford (Indianola), 7-6, 6-1; Litvak (West Des Moines Valley) def. Scheetz (Cedar Rapids Washington), 7-6, 6-2; Bowser (Fort Dodge) def. Hemaidan (Cedar Rapids Kennedy), 6-4, 6-2.

DOUBLES

First round —

No. 1 Charlie Humes/Sriram Sugumaran (Pleasant Valley) def. Brook Norwood/Mitch O'Meara (West Des Moines Valley), 6-3, 6-2; No. 2 Gus Zuccaro/Jacob Mozena (Dubuque Senior) def. Jackson Hoyt/Parker Muller (Cedar Rapids Washington), 1-6, 7-5, 6-1; No. 3 Cole Schneider/Jack Wenzel (Iowa City West) def. Mohammad Chaudhry/Brett Carrier (Urbandale), 6-1, 6-0; Ben Hediger/Lucas Huffman (Linn-Mar) def. No. 4 Josh VandenBerg/Nicholas Matthews, 6-3, 6-2; Zach Coglizer/Ryan Dauterive (Ankeny) def. Lance Maharry/Jack McCoy (Des Moines Roosevelt), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4; Isaac Luebke/Yash Singh (Bettendorf) def. Tyler Kruzan/Austin Grossmann (Waukee), 6-1, 5-7, 6-1; Joe Drey/Davis Lu (West Des Moines Dowling) def. Brian VandenBerg/Josh Hansen (Mason City), 6-2, 6-0; Nicholas Fifield/Noah Ridgway (West Des Moines Valley) def. Peyton Parker/Sandeep Yeturu (Waukee), 6-3, 6-0.

Quarterfinals —

No. 1 Humes/Sugumaran (Pleasant Valley) def. Coglizer/Ryan Dauterive (Ankeny), 6-0, 6-0; No. 2 Zuccaro/Mozena (Dubuque Senior) def. Fifield/Ridgway (West Des Moines Valley), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; No. 3 Schneider/Wenzel (Iowa City West) def. Drey/Lu (West Des Moines Dowling), 6-4, 6-1; Luebke/Singh (Bettendorf) def. Hediger/Huffman (Linn-Mar), 7-6, 7-5.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com