Prairie’s Anthony Schulte takes unbeaten singles record, No. 4 state ranking into district tennis tournament

CEDAR RAPIDS — The regular season has not been much of a challenge for Anthony Schulte.

Playing No. 1 singles for Cedar Rapids Prairie, the talented sophomore has rolled to a 14-0 singles mark heading into Monday's Class 2A district meet on his home courts.

District meets are scheduled for 16 sites around the state on Monday, beginning at 9 a.m. All champions and runners-up advance to the state meets, May 31-June 1. The 1A state meet will be at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Center in Iowa City with 2A play set for Waukee Northwest.

Schulte was ranked No. 4 in the last release of the Iowa High School Tennis poll, behind three Central Iowa standouts — Kaden Taylor (Waukee Northwest), Caleb Peterson (Ankeny Centennial) and Quinn Monson (Waukee).

A state doubles qualifier last season, Schulte will play singles this year and is a heavy favorite to take the district title in a field that will include Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Linn-Mar, Iowa City High, Dubuque Senior and North Scott.

However, do not expect Schulte to take anything for granted. He showed some grit in his final regular-season match against Iowa City West’s Samir Singh. After losing his first set all season, Schulte fought back to grab the second set and prevailed, 10-7, in a third-set tiebreaker.

“I'm approaching districts like any meet or tournament,” Schulte said. “I'm going to take one match at a time and not get ahead of myself.”

That approach comes as no surprise to longtime Prairie Coach Eric Modracek.

“He wants to play every meet no matter the competition or scenario, never missing singles or doubles if possible,” Modracek said. “He's just a really humble guy who loves to play.”

Ironically, Schulte got hooked on tennis to simply fill some time.

“I started tennis when I was 6,” he said. “I got started when I was done with T-ball and I needed something else to do. My dad signed up for a tennis lesson at Westfield (Tennis Center, now known as Smithfield).

“From there I started playing more and more. I started playing tournaments around age 8 and at that time I thought I was pretty good. After last summer, when I had some impressive results, I thought I could go really far with my tennis career.”

Modracek saw that promise during Schulte's freshman year with the Hawks.

“Anthony grew a few inches this year which has really opened up his potential,” Modracek said. “The improvement he has shown since freshman year to this season has been noticeable all-around.

“That includes mentally. He seems to embrace things that others might use as an excuse, such as windy days, people playing well against him, or any pressure or adversity that comes his way.”

Having a player of Schulte's ability is something Modracek doesn't take for granted. Not only is he a strong player, but he is even a better teammate in his coach's eyes.

“He is usually first to arrive and sometimes even stays after to help the others work on their games,” Modracek said. “He really embraces the team aspect of high school tennis and the camaraderie it brings. Believe me, that is not always the case with top players.”

Iowa City Liberty is the other area school hosting a 2A district on Monday. Defending state champion and No. 2-ranked Iowa City West heads that field. No. 8 Cedar Rapids Washington will be in a tough district at No. 9 Cedar Falls that also includes No. 7 Mason City.

In Class 1A, No. 3 Decorah, led by top-ranked Caden Branum, is the lone area host. Cedar Rapids Xavier will play in a district at Fairfield while Marion will be at the Waterloo Columbus district.