Fiala’s Iowa Open streak continues

The Baird Iowa Open is special to Molly Fiala, and her performances in the local tennis tournament have been equally as good.

Fiala has reached a championship appearance every year she's played since she was 10 years old, and that streak was extended Sunday.

Fiala teamed with Marshalltown senior and defending Class 2A state champion Krissy Lankelma to win the women's open doubles title at Veterans Memorial Tennis Center.

Fiala and Lankelma defeated twin sisters Sarah and Leesa Cadwallader, 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-8).

The Fiala family have been regular participants on the local tennis scene, and Fiala said it's a always been nice, especially with her family's involvement.

“It's special to us,” said Fiala, whose dad, Mark, has been the Iowa Open tournament director since 1980. “It's kind of a family thing for us.”

After two years away, Fiala restored her winning ways at the tournament. She added another title to the many that line a border of her room. They include plaques from each division and age group.

In Saturday's semifinal, the thought of not playing for a title entered her mind.

“It kind of made me nervous,” said Fiala, a former Cedar Rapids Jefferson state champion and All-American for Coe. “That'd be really weird if I wasn't in the finals.”

Getting to the finals was one thing, and winning it was another. Fiala and Lankelma needed a comeback, dropping the first set to the Cadwalladers. In one of the more tightly contested matches, they controlled the second set and squeaked out a win behind a 10-8 advantage super tiebreaker.

“We knew they were going to be tough,” Fiala said. They're a good team.”

The normal celebratory meal followed was set to follow - pizza with the family.

“We look forward to the Sunday night pizza,” Fiala said. “We look forward to playing hard and eating hard.”

Fiala's partner, Lankelma, had a lot to celebrate, adding the women's open singles title. Lankelma beat former Cedar Rapids Kennedy prep and Northern Iowa player, Heather Fleming, 6-1, 0-6, 1-0 (10-4).

Fleming wasn't shut out of the title hunt. She teamed with her husband, B.J., to win the open mixed doubles title, downing Phil Williams and Sarah Cadwallader, 6-2, 6-3.

“We played real well,” said B.J. “There were some really good teams.”

This came after the couple claimed the USTA National Husband and Wife national title in Overland Park, Kan., earlier this month.

In the men's open singles final, former University of Iowa teammates J.P. Ritchie and Patrick Dwyer faced off.

Ritchie swept the two-set match, winning 6-4, 7-5.

The pair were teammates for two years, and Ritchie served as a coach for one. They even competed as doubles last week.

“We know each other very well,” said Ritchie. “In most cases, it would be a benefit but not with him.”

They entertained fans, exchanging winning shots and solid play. Ritchie's frustration was evident during the match against Dwyer. Ritchie said his serve was the difference.

“He played a great match and I was lucky to get away with a win,” Ritchie said. “He knows how to frustrate me. He does it better than anyone.”

Doug Wenzel, of Iowa City, and David Elmore, of Phoenix, Ariz., won their second straight titles. Wenzel repeated in 45-and-over men's singles, beating Bettendorf's Kevin Peterson, 6-7 (7-5), 6-1, 1-0 (10-2). Elmore captured the 65-and-over singles crown, dropping Dubuque's Tom Wickham, 6-2, 6-1.

By KJ Pilcher