Holland prepares for her final State Tennis tournament

CEDAR RAPIDS — Most high seniors nearing the end of their careers often speak about how fast things have gone.

For Cedar Rapids Jefferson's Lily Holland, her tennis career DID go faster. With high school tennis moving from spring to fall this year, Holland's final two seasons have been condensed to a seven-month span.

"It really has gone fast," she said, looking back at her career. "This summer, I didn't really get an opportunity to play many summer tournaments with the short turnaround. I was super busy traveling and looking at colleges as there are some rules in place that you can't meet with college coaches during the season and my season was both spring and fall."

That whirlwind career will come to a close this week at the girls’ Class 2A state tournament at Byrnes Park in Waterloo. Holland opens play on Wednesday in a 10 a.m. first-round singles match against Sioux City North's Jaden Brower. Semifinal and final matches are set to begin at 10 a.m. Thursday.

The Class 1A tournament will be held at the Hawkeye Recreation and Tennis Center in Iowa City.

Holland is a three-time state place winner. She finished fifth as a freshman, second as a sophomore and took fourth last spring. Despite that, she was not one of the top four seeds. Waukee Northwest freshman phenom Addison Latta got the No. 1 seed followed by Dubuque Senior's Madeline Bellomy, Cedar Falls' Mackenzie Sagers and North Scott's Madelyn Jepsen.

Holland is 15-3, with losses to both Bellomy and Sagers and Xavier's Gabi Fleming, the two-time defending 1A state champ.

"We kind of knew, going into the seeding meeting, that it was likely going to be a four seed or bust," said Jefferson Coach Tim Preston. "We were hopeful that more coaches would consider Lily's considerable achievements at state as they voted but it didn't go our way.

“The good news is that Lily now has an opportunity to prove, on the court, just what she's capable of. The road is tough, but I won't be betting against her."

Preston, the long-time boys’ coach at Jefferson, took over a girls’ program this fall short on experience outside of Holland. He gave the following example of her impact from a late-season practice.

"We make the girls go through a very high number of shots that they must hit in a row, without missing, before they can be done," he said." For everybody other than Lily, it's a drill that can take a significant amount of time. It would be so easy for Lily to take the hard work she's already put in and just move on. But every single practice, after she gets done with her part of the drill, she moves on from teammate to teammate until everybody gets to the goal.

“She is so kind. She is so patient. She doesn't resent working with her teammates."

Tennis will be a part of Holland's future at a college yet to be selected, where she plans to study chemistry. This week, all her energies will be focused on her final high school meet.

"I can tell you Lily already seems energized and excited now that she's had some time to take a breath with our schedule easing up a bit," Preston said. "I think she's trending in a great direction with a chance to show just why she's had the fantastic career she has."

Holland said the lack of a seed won’t change how she prepares for state..

“For me, this last state tournament is about competing with heart and enjoying the experience,” she said. “I will go out on that court and give it my best to win. At this point, it is about trusting the work I have put in over the years, staying focused, trust in my coach, and making the most of every match."

OTHER IN 2A FIELD

Iowa City Liberty has two players, Vivian Kahler and Addison Bollier, along with Iowa City West's Iris Vasi, in the singles draw. Three area doubles teams (Regan Boies/Anna Schlesinger of Linn-Mar, Lily Belle Barker/Samantha Becker of Cedar Rapids Washington and Sophia Singh/Grace Wang of Iowa City West) also will compete.

CLASS 1A STATE

Cedar Rapids Xavier's Fleming will top seed in her quest for a third straight singles title. She will meet Estherville Lincoln Central's Megan Lausen in her first-round match. Fleming's teammate, Lulu Rozeboom is also in the field.

The Decorah sister duo of Grace and Olivia Huinker are the top seed in doubles. They open against Knoxville's Jordyn Counts and Bridgette Liston. Xavier's Tia Halabi and Gemma Younadam are seeded second. They will meet Sioux City Heelan's Maria Ernsti and Kate Kelly in the first round.

Xavier's No. 2 doubles team of Kelsey Weiss and Gemma Zeckser is also in the draw.