Linn-Mar boys’ tennis looking to head back to state

MARION — There hasn't been a boys’ Class 2A state team tennis tournament without the Linn-Mar Lions since 2016.

In fact since 2012, Linn-Mar has missed the state meet just twice, winning state titles in 2015 and 2018.

After back-to-back fourth-place state finishes in 2023 and 2024, Coach Chris Wundram knew he had a bit of rebuild ahead for 2025 after losing three talented seniors.

Linn-Mar finished the regular season with a 10-6 mark and a No. 7 state ranking. The Lions still are a contender for a state berth, but certainly will not be the heavy favorite they have been in past years when substate play begins on Friday around the state in 2A and 1A.

Linn-Mar received a first-round bye and will play an 11 a.m. home match on Saturday against the winner of a Friday matchup between Ankeny and Des Moines Roosevelt.

The Lions are one of four area schools favored to make the 2A state meet. No. 2 Cedar Rapids Prairie, No. 4 Iowa City West and No. 6 Cedar Rapids Washington are the top-ranked teams in their respective substates. No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier is the top seed in its substate as well.

All substate finals are scheduled for May 21 with the state meet June 3-4. Class 1A teams will play Hawkeye Recreation and Tennis Complex in Iowa City. Waukee Northwest will serve as the 2A host.

Wundram always has tried to put his team up against top competition and this season was no exception. The Lions have met seven Top 10 teams.

"We’ve played arguably the toughest schedule in the state, and we’ve been knocked down a few times," Wundram said, "but when you get knocked down, you have two options, stay down, or get back up. Our guys have consistently challenged each other in tough times to get back up."

The Lions have a solid No. 1 player in junior Garrett Bauermeister. He is ranked among the Top 5 singles players in Class 2A and has a 14-2 record this season. Another junior, Quentin Spolaore, has been a solid player at No. 2 with a 9-6 record.

Over the season, the Lions have come up on the short end in many of the third-set tiebreakers. If just a few of those results had gone the other way, the Lions could have had a few more meet wins, according to Wundram.

It appears that the Lions and No. 9 Marshalltown, a team that was unbeaten until losing a 9-2 decision to Ames last week in its regular-season finale, could meet in the substate final.

"On paper it looks like we could see a very good one loss Marshalltown team," Wundram said. "You never know though in the postseason what could happen."

Despite the up and down regular season, Wundram believes his team is ready for the postseason challenge.

"Making it to state in any season is a remarkable accomplishment," he said. "To talk about eight straight when I think back to when I started 19 seasons ago is hard to comprehend.

"It's all about our current and former athletes. The buy-in and trust they put in our program and each other is the only reason we are in this inconceivable position."