116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Linn-Mar doubles teams upset higher seeds in boys’ tennis district tournament to advance to state
Prairie’s Anthony Schulte wins the singles title
CEDAR RAPIDS — Chris Wundram has been patching things together all season.
At Monday's Class 2A district meet, the veteran Linn-Mar boys’ tennis coach saw what a difference some good health can make.
The Lions’ two doubles teams, Zach Mersch and Malcolm Rice along with Garrett Bauermeister and Jackson Kramer were seeded third and fourth.
“I think both teams had a little motivation because of the number behind their names to start the day,” Wundram said. “Also, these guys are competitors, they were anxious to play and showed they belonged in the state tournament.”
After upsetting higher seeds to advance to the final, the four Lions squared off in the final with Rice and Mersch coming away with a 7-5, 7-5 win in the title match at Prairie High School.
Both teams will play in the state tournament later this month in Iowa City.
There were no surprises in the singles draw. Cedar Rapids Prairie sophomore and top-seeded Anthony Schulte won three matches to remain undefeated. He downed No. 2 seed Abhay Anil of Iowa City High, 6-4, 6-1.
It has been a struggle this year for Rice, who has battled issues with his labrum which has forced him at times to serve underhanded.
“I was just appreciative of the chance to get to play,” he said. “I really didn't know if I would be able to play at the start of the season and I just feel blessed to have had this opportunity today to play with Zach.”
The pair had only played a couple of matches together prior to Monday's district meet.
“It has been a season of adjustment for us all year,” Wundram said. “I think it showed that we are taking two very strong doubles teams to the state tournament.”
Rice believes his chemistry with Mersch has been good in their limited time as partners.
“Playing with Zach today was phenomenal,” Rice said. “It's gone much better than I ever hoped. We work very well together. We understand the game and I'd say we both have high tennis IQs so we have just kinda clicked.”
For Prairie's Schulte, his biggest opponent on the day was inactivity. After getting a first-round bye, he won his next two matches by 6-0, 6-0 scores which left him with a long wait for his final with Anil.
“I think it made a difference at the start having such a long break between my second and third match,” Schulte said. “(Anil) didn't have as long of a break so I think he was in a little better rhythm to start.”
Leading 4-3 in the first set, Schulte took command, losing just one game the rest of the way to earn his first state singles berth after playing in the doubles tournament last year.
“I'm looking forward to that meet,” he said. “There are a lot of good players in a meet like that. It will be an exciting challenge.”
In other 2A play on Monday, Iowa City West swept the top two spots in singles and doubles at Iowa City Liberty. In singles, Jayden Shin needed three sets to top Jonathan Fan in the final. In doubles, Samir Singh and Shivy Mannengi also won in three sets over Patrick Selby and Junze Sun. At Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids Washington’s Nicholas Burkamper advanced as the district runner-up in singles.
In Class 1A play at Fairfield, Cedar Rapids Xavier swept the singles spots with Charlie LeGrand downing teammate Ryan Schmit in the final. In doubles, Garret Nurre and Jacob Schmit advanced as the runner-up. Matches in the Decorah regional were delayed by rain. That district will complete play on Tuesday.
Daily Newsletters