No bad days so far for Washington girls tennis

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cedar Rapids Washington girls' tennis team opened the season with five straight dual wins, highlighted by last week's 7-2 victory over an Iowa City High team that returned its top four players from last year's undefeated Mississippi Valley Conference regular season team.The Warriors also notched weekend dual wins over the Dubuque pair of Hempstead and Wahlert by a combined score of 17-1.“Everyone's coming to play,” Washington Coach Liz Bertrand said. “They're here not only to have fun but to play well. They're just taking our advice and really using what they know. They're here to play. No one's had a bad day yet.”Washington (5-0, 3-0 MVC) features the returning state doubles runner-up tandem of junior Lilly Hartman and senior Rina Moore. The pair did not partner up until late last season, so they feel they have a head start this year by teaming up from the start.“We get better every match,” said Hartman, last year's MVC Valley Athlete of the Year who also competes at No. 1 singles for the Warriors. “The more we play together, the more we communicate and have better chemistry.”Washington also is receiving valuable contributions from a pair of freshman - Hannah Sherman (No. 2 singles) and Kelly King (No. 5) - and welcomed a surprise with the addition of senior Callie Cook. Cook previously played on her own and participated in clinics at Elmcrest Country Club before being encouraged by Hartman to join the squad. She is competing at the No. 6 singles spot.“We appreciate her being here and she's doing a great job,” Bertrand said. “She's very athletic and she wants to learn.”Washington has a pair of duals this Saturday at Iowa City West and at Cedar Rapids Prairie.

ULRING NO. 1 FOR DECORAHTo hear Decorah boys' tennis coach Reginald Laursen call it, the Vikings have no true No. 1 singles player. Even with a returning Class 1A state singles qualifier in junior Ryan Hageman, Laursen has tasked another junior - Caleb Ulring - with the top spot.“He's extremely quick,” Laursen said of Ulring. “He can run things down. He has quick hands and so on, so that he can pull things out and he does have a topspin game. He has a variety in the game that he can do some underspin things and some topspin. It's not all one kind of game.”Ulring concedes that the challenge of facing the top player from each team is daunting, but one he embraces.“I'm just trying to work and stay consistent, keep pace with all the other guys,” Ulring said. “It's brutal sometimes, but it's fun. I'm learning a lot, it's a good time.”Both Laursen and Ulring credit the Vikings depth as the key ingredient to their goal of competing in the 1A state tournament."Our one through seven – we can pretty much mix them all up and play and it would be the same outcome for singles," Ulring said. "We don't have that one hard hitter. We have two through seven that we rely on to be a good team."

SATURDAY SHOWDOWNAn anticipated boys' tennis dual takes place Saturday at 1 p.m. when Linn-Mar (5-0, 3-0 MVC) hosts two-time defending state champion Iowa City West, winners of 40 straight.“We're a senior-laden team,” West Coach Mitch Gross said before the season. “Which is great, because we have been there. What they have done is absolutely tremendous.”