Both Cedar Rapids Washington tennis teams off to impressive starts

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids Washington's boys’ tennis team found its stride at the end of last season.

That momentum has carried over to 2023.

Coach Tom Neff's Warriors were a surprise qualifier for the state tournament last spring, winning a road substate match at Bettendorf and outlasting Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 5-4, in a marathon substate final before falling to eventual Class 2A state champion Iowa City West in the state quarterfinals.

Almost all the players from that team have returned and they have picked up right where they left off.

Washington, ranked No. 8 in the latest Iowa High School Tennis poll and No. 10 in the Iowa Tennis Coaches poll, is off to an impressive 5-0 start after rolling to a 9-0 victory over Jefferson on Tuesday night.

“It has been great to see the results of the hard work the team has put in during the offseason,” Neff said. “We do goal setting every year and our guys would like to do better than we did last year. We need to stay focused and stay healthy.”

Two weeks into the season, the Warriors are almost halfway to their 11-win dual total from 2022.

Nicholas Burkamper, the lone senior in Washington's starting lineup, has set the tone. He is 5-0 in his matches at No. 1 singles.

“Nick has been a great leader both on and off the court,” Neff said. “He is respected by his teammates and very driven in life.”

Burkamper's brother, sophomore Lucas, has been strong at No. 2 singles. The remainder of the singles lineup — sophomore Brock Davis, juniors Colton Eilers and Thor White, along with freshman Bjorn White — have lost only two matches between them so far.

Preston Haefner, Logan Sherman and Sam Lindwall also have been solid when called upon in doubles.

“The team is all very good friends who push each other and help to make each other better,” Neff said. “We talk about supporting one another and how to overcome the nerves, which happen during matches.”

After a meet Thursday at Waterloo West, the Warriors will have a good chance to see how they measure up against some ranked teams. They host top-5 ranked Linn-Mar on Saturday at 9 a.m. and travel to meet No. 2 Iowa City West on Monday.

Neff said Washington takes the same approach to its meets, regardless of the opponent.

“Our goals are to have fun, be a good student and to healthily compete,” he said. “I personally measure our tennis success by seeing these young men out playing during the summer having fun.

“We don’t look past anyone. Linn-Mar and Iowa City West all are very good teams and coached well and will certainly be a test for us.”

Cedar Rapids Washington girls start strong

The Warrior girls, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, also are off to an unbeaten start under first-year coach Nina Marquardt.

Junior Katelynn Kock and senior Kathryn Zylstra, the defending state doubles champs, have been dominant in singles and doubles.

Senior Chloe Palmer and junior Mya Messenger are off to good starts, as well, for the Warriors, who are expected to eventually battle top-ranked West Des Moines Dowling for the state title.

Washington could be tested by No. 4 Iowa City West when the two teams meet next Monday in a dual at Washington.

Change to IHSAA boys’ tennis postseason

The postseason team format for boys will change this season to an all-in format.

All varsity teams that had at least six eligible participants on April 1 will be placed in team substates. Assignments for these team substates will be completely separated from the district (singles and doubles) assignments.

That differs from past years when the results of singles and doubles district play determined the substate team participants.

The state tournament will now be an eight-team, two-day competition for each classification. Seeding for substate and state tournament play will be determined via coaches’ meetings and votes.