Cedar Rapids Washington among favorites as Iowa high school boys’ tennis team substates begin Saturday

CEDAR RAPIDS — Make no mistake about it, Tom Neff is happy to be sticking close to home on Saturday.

The Cedar Rapids Washington boys’ tennis coach and his No. 6 ranked Warriors are one of three Gazette-area Class 2A schools hosting the first two rounds of the substate team tournament. No. 2 Linn-Mar and No. 4 Iowa City West also will be hosting Saturday.

Quarterfinal round play in Class 2A begins at 9 a.m. at 16 sites around the state.

“We get to have the home field, so to speak,” Neff said. “It's awfully nice to have that advantage. There is something to be said about sleeping in your own bed, getting up and going over to the court to play.”

The Warriors, along with the Lions and Trojans, received byes into the semifinal round, set to begin approximately 30 minutes following the completion of the quarterfinals. Washington will meet the winner of the match between Indianola and Ankeny.

“We are excited to play somebody new,” Neff said. “It is a great experience for the kids, getting the chance to play against players from another part of the state.”

Washington has a deep roster, led by junior Luke Burkamper. A state quarterfinalist last year, the Warriors are a battle-tested team in Neff’s eyes

“We are strong 1 through 7,” he said. “Our team has a lot of experience. We have been to state before so they know what it takes to be successful.”

No. 10 Cedar Rapids Prairie, led by junior Anthony Schulte, is on the other side of Washington’s bracket. The Hawks got the No. 3 seed and will meet Southeast Polk at Johnston where the host Dragons await the winner.

No. 2 Linn-Mar is a heavy favorite to win its substate. The Lions will host the winner of a quarterfinal match between Davenport North and Dubuque Senior. Bettendorf is the No. 2 seed on the other side of the bracket and will host the Iowa City Liberty-Muscatine winner.

“We're not taking anything for granted,” said Linn-Mar Coach Chris Wundram, whose team finished fourth at state in 2023. “Any loss the rest of the way ends your season. This team has been a tight-knit group all year so I expect us to come out focused and ready to play.”

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In Iowa City, two-time defending state champion West will get the winner of the Marion-Burlington match. Ottumwa is the No. 2 seed and will host the Iowa City High-Cedar Rapids Jefferson winner.

No. 2 Cedar Rapids Xavier and No. 7 Decorah also will be hosting Class 1A substates on Saturday. Coach Jim Potts’ Saints will host Keokuk in a quarterfinal match at 9 a.m. A win would advance Xavier to a semifinal match later on Saturday against the Oskaloosa-Fort Madison winner. At Decorah, the Vikings will host Oelwein and would then meet the winner between Osage and Clear Lake.

All substate finals in both classes will be hosted by the highest remaining seed beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.