Cedar Rapids Jefferson freshman Parker Holland heads to state tennis tournament after dominant district performance

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids Jefferson boys’ tennis coach Tim Preston knew he had a pretty good freshman joining his team this spring.

However, it was a couple of wins, one early and one later in the season that showed Parker Holland was the real deal.

The J-Hawk freshman got a win early over Iowa City High No. 1 Abhay Anil and followed that up later in the season by downing Iowa City West’s top player, Samir Singh.

“It was those wins, in particular, where a lot of us were like, ‘Whoa, he's at a different level than what we thought,’” Preston said.

That momentum carried over to the Class 2A district tournament where Holland was dominant, dropping only six games in three matches en route to winning the singles title and earning a berth in the state tournament.

The Class 2A state meet is set for Tuesday and Wednesday at the Hawkeye Recreation and Tennis Center in Iowa City. Play in Class 1A in Waterloo has been pushed to Wednesday and Thursday based on Tuesday's weather forecast. Matches will be held at Byrnes Park and indoors at Black Hawk Tennis Club if needed.

Preston said Holland’s confidence was evident at the district meet, where he defeated Iowa City West's Anthony Medina, 6-1, 6-2 in the final.

“When he was at districts, we felt like he had an awesome opportunity not to just qualify, but to win,” Preston said. “Then, when it happened, we were so excited because it is a great representation of the time, energy and work he's put in.”

Holland, who is 13-6 in singles matches this season, admitted he was surprised with the way he dominated his district foes.

“I went in knowing that (districts) were going to be hard,” he said. “I have played some of the opponents in past tournaments so (I figured) it was going to be a challenge.”

Holland comes from a tennis family. His mother Kendra played at Jefferson and at Northern Iowa. Older sister Lily, a Jefferson sophomore, qualified for her second straight girls’ state tournament and has the third seed for that meet, which begins on Friday.

“My sister and I don't have a rivalry but we do play together for practice all the time,” Holland said.

Holland is the first J-Hawk since Kyle Lassen in 2018 to qualify for the state singles tournament. He will meet Johnston senior Campbell Love in his opening-round match at state on Tuesday. A win there would likely put him up against top seed Kaden Taylor from Waukee Northwest.

“Making it to Wednesday (top eight) has been the goal since qualifying,” Preston said. “Now, so often a player’s chances for that level of success comes down to more than just ability but he’s certainly going to have a chance to be in that conversation.”

For Holland, the state meet will be the culmination of an enjoyable season.

“It's fantastic qualifying for state,” he said. “I am going to do my best for every match and learn from the experience.

“I think high school tennis has brought joy to the game for me. The coaches are awesome. It's nice to have a team to hang with and support each other.”

Cedar Rapids Prairie junior Anthony Schulte was awarded the No. 3 singles seed in 2A. Linn-Mar’s Malcolm Rice and Garrett Bauermeister got the No. 3 doubles seed. Singh and Patrick Selby of Iowa City West are seeded fourth.

In 1A, defending state singles champion Caden Branum of Decorah is the No. 2 seed behind Pella’s Jack Briggs. Cedar Rapids Xavier’s Charlie LeGrand and Jacob Schmit are seeded No. 2 in doubles.