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Daughter topples mother in Iowa Open tennis final
Gabi Fleming takes down Heather Fleming in tie-breaker in women’s final; Anthony Schulte beats his brother in men’s final
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CEDAR RAPIDS — There was no hesitation.
When asked if there is more pressure playing in a state final or playing in a title match against your mother, two-time Class 1A state singles champion Gabi Fleming said it was playing her mom.
"This was harder, for sure," said the younger Fleming following her 6-2, 1-6, 1-0 (10-7) win over her mom, Heather, on Sunday in the final of the open women's division of the Baird Iowa Open at the Veterans Memorial Tennis Center.
It also was a family affair in the men's open final where brothers Anthony and Dylan Schulte met for the third time in two months in a tournament final. Anthony, who beat Dylan for the Class 2A singles title in May, avenged a loss to his younger brother at the Midlands earlier this month with 6-3, 7-5 victory.
Having brothers meet in a tournament is not very common, but having a mother and daughter matching up is even more rare. They played in the Midlands in 2024 with Gabi winning in straight sets.
"Honestly, it's not a lot of fun," Heather Fleming said about playing Gabi, who will be a junior this fall at Xavier. "It's tough. Part of you feels bad when she is missing but I am super competitive and I want to win too. It's conflicting.
"We know each other's games so well. There is also a lot behind the scenes when a mother and a daughter play."
Gabi Fleming said the psychological aspect of playing her mother is the toughest thing.
"It's definitely harder mentally for me," Gabi said. "She definitely gets on my nerves a little bit because she knows my game so well, but it is fun."
In Sunday's match Gabi controlled the first set, but Heather was dominant in the second set, taking advantage of some errors from her daughter. In the super-tiebreaker Gabi jumped to a 9-3 lead before winning on a hitting error from Heather.
"I just missed that shot, it was so easy," said Heather, who has won the women's open title eight times, her first in 1997 and her most recent in 2021.
For Gabi, the difference in the super-tiebreaker was her serve.
"I kept telling myself on my serve to keep my head up and just not fall into her game of lobs and just be more aggressive," she said.
The Flemings did share a title together, winning the open women's doubles title on Saturday.
As for the men's final, Anthony Schulte joked he really wanted to play somebody different. It has been a great two months for the brothers. They made history at the boys’ state meet as the first brothers ever to meet for the title. Representing Cedar Rapids Prairie, Anthony won 7-5, 7-5 that day. Then Dylan turned the tables with a straight set win last week.
"I did adjust my game to play him again today," said Anthony Schulte, who will be playing for Coe next year. "It's going to be nice to have a year break from playing him, but we will probably run into each other again next summer."
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