Xavier tennis searching for identity

CEDAR RAPIDS - Spring sports have officially reached midseason.

This is a crucial point when teams take stock on how their seasons are going. Teams from around the state that have been tearing it up are kicking it into high gear as they hope to show off their hard work by qualifying for the state tournament. Others look to shake off their early season lumps and bruises and will be looking to improve over the second half of the year.

For Cedar Rapids Xavier's tennis teams, their records would indicate they still are attempting to find their identity.

For the boys' team, the first half of the season has been a roller coaster. The team sits at 7-5 and has run through a gauntlet of tough competition, including Dubuque Wahlert, Iowa City West and MVC powerhouse Linn-Mar, which takes a 10-0 record into today's match with West.

The team has responded well to adversity, however.

'I feel like we've played pretty well so far,” freshman John Lansing said. 'We lost to some very good teams, but we've shown them we can compete with the bigger schools. My goal for the team is to finish the year strong to give ourselves a chance to make it to state as a team.”

The team has never suffered back-to-back losses, responding to each challenge by coming out ready to face its next opponent. This includes consecutive wins over Dubuque Senior and a solid 8-1 victory over Waterloo Columbus following a close, 5-4, loss to Cedar Falls.

For the girls, it appears as if they are starting to figure things out, winning three of their last four with back-to-back 9-0 victories over Cedar Rapids Prairie and Jefferson. Senior Allison Jasper has continued her stellar play, obtaining the team's lone victory against a talented Washington squad. She continues to pace the team in wins with an 11-1 record.