From youth tennis standout to state champion

Editor's note: Randy Krejci, a retired teacher, coach and administrator in the Cedar Rapids Community School District, remains active in local athletics and serves as commissioner of the Mississippi Valley Conference.

By Randy Krejci, community contributor

City High graduate Eve Small, playing in her hometown last month, reached the pinnacle of success in high school tennis when she earned the Class 2A state singles championship at the University of Iowa-Don Klotz Tennis Center by virtue of a quick straight-set victory over phenomenal freshman Lily Feldman of Pleasant Valley.

Small ended her senior season with a 23-0 mark and will continue her dynamic career at the University of Northern Iowa.

What did she do in her earlier days that might benefit young players who have taken up the game of tennis and have lofty goals?

'I started playing tennis at age 5 and my father was actually my first coach and a very supportive parent through my early stages of playing tennis,” Small said. 'I really believe that kids in elementary school or junior high getting started really need to put in hours on the tennis court. I oftentimes put in three hours a day on consecutive days and that really seemed to help.”

Small also said to 'play as many tournaments as you can.

'I actually began my tennis tournament career playing in the Midlands tournament in Iowa City and the Baird Iowa Open tournament in Cedar Rapids as a 10-year-old and that was my first experience with tournament tennis.”

These two tournaments are on the docket this summer with the Iowa Tennis Association. The Iowa Open - the longest continuous held tournament in the state - will be staged in Cedar Rapids July 21-24. Michelle Conlon (michele-conlon@uiowa.edu) directs the Midlands tournament in Iowa City, Aug. 7-9. Rusty Graff (rustog@aol.com), tennis coach at Cedar Rapids Washington, directs the Iowa Open after replacing longtime tournament director Mark Fiala.

The modest Small said getting involved in school tennis throughout junior high and high school career was important, too.

'Even though I was nervous as I started in high school tennis for City High as a freshman, and didn't really know what to expect from teammates, I really enjoyed playing with the other girls and having team support since when you play tournaments you are pretty much out there alone and other than family you don't have too much support like you do with teammates on a high school team,” she said.

Small was the No. 1 player for City High throughout her four-year career, earning first-team Mississippi Valley Conference honors every year and being named Athlete of the Year three times.

Even though tennis is 'her game,” she emphasized the importance of being a part of a team and really enjoyed her experience as a bowler for City High during her senior year of high school.

She said college tennis and recruitment can be a 'tedious process,” but one she ultimately enjoyed and was impressed with the women and coach at UNI. She will major in exercise science beginning this fall.

From those earlier fundamentals built by this modest, yet goal-oriented athlete, Small found herself third in the state as a freshman, and a runner-up in her sophomore and junior years before climaxing her career with the state championship.

She became the third girl to win a state championship for the Little Hawks, following in the footsteps of Mona Schallau - a two-time champion in 1966 and '67 who eventually played on the pro circuit - and Conlon, who grabbed titles in 1981 and '83.

Her name nay be Small, but she has a big game that will pay dividends in college. Her relentless ground strokes and powerful well-placed serve will keep her on the attack and should become an impact player for UNI as early as this fall. Her pleasant personality, hard-nosed work ethic, support of others around her in the great game of tennis - and her development in fundamentals over the past 13 years or so - provided a great background for her exemplary career.

The future is bright in intercollegiate tennis for this delightful athlete.