I.C. West makes history on first day of state tennis tournament

CEDAR RAPIDS - For the first time in the history of the Iowa high school state tennis tournament, one school will send four groups to semifinal matches to have the chance to compete for a state title.

Iowa City West has two singles players - senior Blake Oetting and freshman Jiung Jung - competing in semifinal matches, while two West doubles teams - Adam Dellos and Trent Schneider, alongside David DiLeo and Karl Wenzel - also have the opportunity to earn a state title.

'It's unbelievable - I'm not even sure that's happened before,” West head coach Mitch Gross said. 'It's a testament the hard work the boys have put in, it's very exciting. I thought it was a possibility, a lot of things would have to fall our way, but everybody played great ... We obviously have our work cut out for us because we have some really tough semifinal matches.”

Dellos and Schneider enjoyed a No. 1 seeding during the first day of matches, while Oetting, who won a doubles title in 2013, was seeded at No. 3. The biggest surprise of the day for West was perhaps Jiung Jung upsetting district champion Caleb Shudak of Lewis Central, 6-1, 6-0, in straight sets. Jung will take on another freshman, Waukee's Alex Brown, today for the right to make it to the championship match.

'It was important for me to stay calm,” Jung said after his upset win. 'I went into the match like any other - expecting to win. (Today) I need to play out of my comfort zone and play a little more aggressively than usual, because if I don't, I'll lose.”

Linn-Mar still has the chance to crown a champion, with the doubles team of Brady Anderson and Trevor McCann advancing to the next round. The duo will take on the West squad of Dellos and Schneider at 10 a.m. today.

Linn-Mar also has some championship experience, with Anderson claiming the 2A singles title in 2013. With that notch already on his belt, Anderson focused his efforts this year on winning a doubles championship.

'It's unique,” Linn-Mar head coach Chris Wundram said of Anderson's switching over to doubles. 'It's something a lot of coaches, including myself, have never experienced before. But he made the decision to go for the doubles title, and I support him and I think they're more than capable of doing it. That experience [from Anderson winning in 2013] is definitely helpful, and hopefully that experience transfers to Trevor, too, but Iowa City West is really good, so we're going to have play really good tennis to beat them.”

l Comments: ben.ross@thegazettecompany.com