Rami Scheetz tops Luke VanDonslear in U16 championships at Baird Iowa Open

CEDAR RAPIDS — Rami Scheetz and Luke VanDonslear are no strangers to each other on the tennis court.

The two have been training together for years, and competing against each other in tournaments and whenever their two high schools — Cedar Rapids Washington and Linn-Mar, respectively — meet up.

So when the two met in the U16 finals of the Baird Iowa Open on Thursday at the Veterans Memorial Tennis Courts in Cedar Rapids, it was nothing new.

And while the matches have gone both ways in the past, Scheetz walked away victorious on Thursday morning, winning in three sets.

'It went really well,' Scheetz said. 'It was really up and down for me. It was back and forth between me and Luke, but eventually I pulled it out like I had been doing all year and this whole tournament.'

Scheetz won the first set 6-4, but dropped the second set 7-6. The pair knew it was going to be a tight match going into it because they are very familiar with each other's playing styles. However, in the final set, Sheets pulled ahead to win 10-5.

'It was a good match,' VanDonslear said. 'I came out pretty sloppy, but I think it was a good match. We play a lot together, and we always have good fights. ... It's a pleasure (playing against Rami). It's always fun, it's always really tough. I just couldn't get him at the end.'

The match was the only championship played on Thursday in the three-day junior tournament, with the other 15 brackets having finished on Wednesday. The tournament offers both singles and doubles play in different age groups, from 12-under to 18-under.

The tournament is the longest consecutively run tennis tournament in the state of Iowa, starting in the 1920s. Since then, it has been a summer tradition, bringing in people from all over the state — and all over the Midwest.

Scheetz said not only is the tournament — which he's played in three times now — in a very convenient location, but it boasts great competition, too.

'It's right here (in town), so I might as well,' Scheetz said. 'It's a really fun tournament to play in.'

Scheetz, who will be a junior at Washington in the fall, also played in the U18 doubles bracket with his high school partner, Ty Sherman. The two were fresh off a second-place finish at the state doubles tournament, and had no trouble winning this week.

VanDonslear also had a productive high school season. The freshman finished sixth at the state tournament, a finish he said is a great start to his high school career.

So while it wasn't the first time the two have faced off, and undoubtedly won't be the last, Scheetz said it was just in the cards for him this time.

Next time, it may not be.

'We're good friends,' Scheetz said. 'It's always hard playing friends of yours, but you always have to focus up really hard. I was expecting that to be a battle. ... Obviously it helped out for me this time, but who knows next time.'

l Comments: ryan.young@thegazette.com