Young West boys tennis team undefeated

IOWA CITY - Iowa City West boys tennis coach Mitch Gross was worried about a possible letdown after his team's biggest match to date.

His young squad eased his mind in resounding fashion.

The Trojans snapped Linn-Mar's 24-match win streak Monday in the conclusion of a postponed match from earlier this month and followed it with their third shutout a day later to stay perfect this year. West beat Dubuque Senior, 9-0, Tuesday, improving to 4-0.

“Good teams beat good teams. We beat a good team with Linn-Mar,” Gross said. “Great teams don't step off the gas. Great teams push it all the way down. They did that (Tuesday). I was very happy and impressed to see them even take it up a notch after the Linn-Mar match.”

Linn-Mar actually had the advantage, leading three of the six matches, April 7 before rain postponed the conclusion of the to Monday. The layoff benefited the Trojans, because gross was able to gauge his young players and find ways to improve. West upended the Lions, 8-1.

“I knew we could compete, but how they dominated us the last few years we knew it was going to be a tough match,” Gross said. “We were lucky the rain came because we were playing terrible. It didn't look good for us.”

West starts four freshman and two sophomores, including the team's top player Kyle Appel, who placed sixth in state singles last year as a freshman. Youth doesn't always mean the inability to close tight matches.

“That's the thing I like about this team, they're real gamers,” Gross said. “They are match tough. They are match savvy.”

West has looked strong so far this year. The Trojans also have shutouts over Cedar Rapids Prairie and Fairfield Maharishi, losing only one match - No. 6 singles against Linn-Mar - in four matches.

West also came away with the team title at Cedar Rapids Washington's Dave Meyer Invitational April 9 at Veterans Memorial Tennis Center. The Trojans tallied 226 points in the six-team field, 44 more than runner-up Cedar Rapids Kennedy. Appel and Blake Oetting won titles for No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively, and Karl Wenzel and Yoon Soo Kim teamed to win No. 2 doubles bracket.

“Some key cogs in other teams weren't there,” Gross said. “We were really happy with the way we performed.”

The Trojans have transitioned to the high school game well, getting over competition among themselves for individual spots. Gross said everyone has bought in to the team philosophy.

“They have responded very well,” Gross said. “This is one of the most coachable groups. They listen and respond. They do what I ask them to do and that's been encouraging to me.”