Oetting, White-Baer win doubles title

JOHNSTON - When athletes conquer an obstacle, it's usually referred to as climbing a wall or even breaking through one.

Lilli Oetting and Lola White-Baer desired to get on the wall when they concluded the state doubles tournament.

The Iowa City West duo earned their spot on the school's "Wall of Fame" by winning the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union's Class 2A state doubles championship Friday at Johnston High School.

The wall displays pictures of the West's state champions. Athletics director Marv Reiland will have to add the school's fifth state doubles title team to it.

"We always walk by everyday and talk about how our photo is going to be there one day," Oetting said. "Now, it finally is. We're really proud to have our photo next to those (other) girls."

Oetting and White-Baer beat Urbandale's Brittany Lange and Michelle Van Roekel, 6-1, 6-7, 6-2, in the championship match. The pair ran together and embraced before being mobbed by teammates on the court after an Urbandale shot into the net clinched the victory. White-Baer imagined excitement, but the expectation paled in comparison to the real thing.

"It was extra special because we had to go into a third set after we lost a second-set tiebreaker," White-Baer said. "It made that much more meaningful."

The Women of Troy cruised into the finals. After opening with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Jenna Lack and Madeline Heer, also of Urbandale, they only lost one set point in each of the next two matches, including a 6-0, 6-1 semifinal victory over Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Sarah Lasecki and Goeddel.

They continued their dominance and didn't look back Oetting's service ace gave them a 1-0 lead that turned into a 6-1 win. Things were going as planned but the J-Hawks didn't go away without a fight. Urbandale battled to take the second in a tiebreaker.

"In the first set, we came out strong the way we wanted to," said Oetting, noting they served well and were aggressive. "The second set they stepped it up a little bit. We started making some errors. It was a really tough set."

When Oetting and White-Baer were clicking, they were earning points with winning shots. It was a product of their mentality on the court.

"We play aggressive doubles," Oetting said. "We look to cross the net and pit it down as a volley. That's something we didn't do as great of a job in the second set, finishing the point on our own terms."

It was about the only challenge they faced in the two-day tournament. Closing out the win came with a few nerves that got to the junior duo, according to West Coach Kay DiLeo.

"They responded well," DiLeo said. "Those two pulled through that. I'm not sure two years ago I could have said they would come back in the third set.

"They're juniors now. They've been through a lot. They got the job done in that third set."

The 10-minute break between the second and third sets allowed Oetting and White-Baer to regroup and refocus. DiLeo reminded her team that success hinged on aggressive play and to think of the final set as a different match.

After the break, the Women of Troy weren't going to be denied.

"We just felt like we couldn't lose," White-Baer said. "We made it this far and practiced so much. This was our title to win."

It was a title to win together since they have played tennis with one another for a number of years. Oetting said it was a matter of making it happen.

"I'm really happy I could share this moment with Lola," Oetting said. "We've been waiting for this for a long time."

West teammate Brittany Appel gave the team three placewinners. Appel closed her individual campaign with an eighth-place finish in singles.

Iowa City High's Susanna Howard capped her prep career by capturing fifth in the singles field. Howard dropped Sioux City West's Maddie Warder, 6-3, 6-2, in the final match.

"The last match of the day I played well," said Howard, who placed fourth last year. "I'm happy with that."

Fourth-seeded Howard wasn't as happy Thursday, when she lost to Jessica King of Ames, who finished third.

"I just wanted to go home after I lost," Howard said with a laugh. "I was pretty disappointed about the loss. I was able to bounce back."

She fought through the consolation bracket to win her final three matches, giving her a 5-1 record at state and a 25-2 mark for the year.

Marshalltown's Krissy Lankelma won her second straight singles title with a 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-4 win over Evelyn Qin of Ames in the championship match.