Iowa City West is the best in boys’ tennis for fourth time in five years

DES MOINES – The names and the games change by the year, but the tennis excellence remains.

The Iowa City West Trojans capped an 18-0 season and won their fourth boys' tennis state championship in the last five years with a 5-0 victory over West Des Moines Valley Tuesday at the Knapp Tennis Center.

'They have such tremendous heart,' West Coach Mitch Gross said. 'I think that is what has really separated this team from other teams is such amazing chemistry, great heart. … This just feels right. It's such a great group of guys who work incredibly hard.'

No 2A program in the state can match West's seven state titles overall, and no team this year could topple the Trojans' successful blend of star power, grit and youth.

After a 5-0 victory over Waukee in the semifinal, two-time singles state champion Jiung Jung began the final with an emphatic 6-0, 6-1 victory over Valley's Yasha Litvak that seemed to set the tone for the impending shutout.

'A lot of our guys felt pretty nervous before the match,' Jung said. 'I think having gotten one win there at the beginning made them feel a little better.'

Fellow junior Cole Schneider was equally dominant in a 6-1, 6-0 win against Noah Ridgway at No. 2 singles that extended the West lead to 2-0.

From there, the two freshmen in the lineup scored pivotal victories that demonstrated a lot of poise for their ages. After a comfortable first set, Jack Wenzel fell behind Valley junior Brook Norwood, 4-1, in the second. Wenzel won six of the next seven games, then cheered on another West freshman, Sam Shin, whose 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Nick Fifield brought the Trojans within a match of the state title.

'I've always trusted them to show up and give 100 percent,' West senior Ryan Smith said of Shin and Wenzel. 'They're amazing tennis players. It's going to be exciting to see where they go.'

With West leading, 4-0, rain forced the action from the Prairie Ridge Sports Complex in Ankeny to the indoor courts on the Drake campus. It seemed only fitting that the opportunity for a title-clinching victory in singles was between Smith and Yuxuan Zheng, two indispensable West seniors who were playing junior varsity just two years ago.

Both were pushed to a third set, but in the end Zheng delivered the title, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 against Badi Issa, who defeated Zheng in an April dual.

'It means a lot to me,' Zheng said. 'I've come a long way with my friends. We all climbed together and I'm glad I could win the meet for my team.'

After a narrow 5-4 loss to Valley (15-2) in the morning semifinal, Cedar Rapids Washington (14-2) finished third overall with a 5-3 victory against Waukee (13-3) in the consolation match.

'I think it's good,' Washington Coach Rusty Graff said. 'We set goals, we tried to achieve them. We fell a little short, but generally we competed pretty hard. In the challenging duals, I think we represented ourselves proudly.'

CLASS 2A BOYS' TENNIS TEAM STATE TOURNAMENT

Semifinals

At Ankeny

(Prairie Ridge Sports Complex)

Iowa City West 5, Waukee 0

Singles —

Jiung Jung def. Austin Grossmann, 6-0, 6-3; Cole Schneider def. Noah Burmeister, 6-4, 6-1; Ryan Smith def. Tyler Kruzan, 6-3, 6-0; Sam Shin def. Nick Weyers, 6-0, 6-3; Yuxuan Zheng def. Tucker Mitchell, 6-2, 6-1.

West Des Moines Valley 5, Cedar Rapids Washington 4

Singles —

Yasha Litvak (WDMV) def. Jackson Hoyt, 6-2, 6-4; Rami Scheetz (CRW) def. Noah Ridgway, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1; Ty Sherman (CRW) def. Habi Moise, 6-1, 6-3; Will Rizer (CRW) def. Brook Norwood, 6-3, 6-1; Nick Fifield (WDMV) def. Ethan Wickham, 6-4, 6-4; Badi Issa (WDMV) def. Dane Van Antwerp, 6-2, 7-5.

Doubles —

Litvak/Ridgway (WDMV) def. Hoyt/Jack Parmley, 6-1, 6-1; Scheetz/Sherman (CRW) def. Moise/Joe Brennan, 6-4, 6-0; Fifield/Norwood (WDMV) def. Rizer/Wickham, 5-7, 7-6, 7-6.

Championship

At Ankeny and Des Moines

(Prairie Ridge Sports Complex and Knapp Tennis Center)

Iowa City West 5, West Des Moines Valley 0

Singles —

Jiung Jung def. Yasha Litvak, 6-0, 6-1; Cole Schneider def. Noah Ridgway, 6-1, 6-0; Jack Wenzel def. Brook Norwood, 6-1, 7-5; Sam Shin def. Nick Fifield, 6-2, 6-1; Yuxuan Zheng def. Badi Issa, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.

Third place

At Ankeny and Des Moines

(Prairie Ridge Sports Complex and Knapp Tennis Center)

Cedar Rapids Washington 5, Waukee 3

Singles —

Jackson Hoyt (CRW) def. Austin Grossmann, 7-6, 6-2; Noah Burmeister (WAU) def. Rami Scheetz, 3-6, 6-4, 10-6; Ty Sherman (CRW) def. Tyler Kruzan, 6-2, 6-1; Will Rizer (CRW) def. Sandeep Yeturu, 6-1, 6-2; Nick Weyers (WAU) def. Ethan Wickham, 6-1, 6-0; Tucker Mitchell (WAU) def. Dane Van Antwerp, 6-3, 6-4.

Doubles —

Hoyt/Jack Parmley (CRW) def. Grossman/Kruzan, 3-6,6-4, 10-8; Scheetz/Sherman (CRW) def. Yeturu/Mitchell, 6-1, 6-1.

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