Washington's winning combo

CEDAR RAPIDS - Charlie Hammond and Mitch Blades are a perfect match on the tennis court.

The Cedar Rapids Washington doubles team showed promise when they were paired together at the start of the season. Their chemistry has powered them into the state's top four duos.

Hammond and Blades won their first two matches and advanced to the semifinals of the Iowa High School Athletic Association's Class 2A state doubles tournament Friday at Veterans Memorial Tennis Center.

The third-seeded Warriors took down Calvin Song and Nirvan Tyagi of Ames, 6-3, 7-5, and then capped their opening day at state with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 win over Carroll Kuemper's Nathan Greteman and Michael Hoyt.

“I'm really glad to be in the semifinals,” said Hammond, a junior. “It was kind of our goal for the season. We only had one loss in the regular season so we knew we could get here.”

Hammond and Blades have played tennis together since they were youths. It was no surprise they proved to be a good mix.

“They are a good partnership,” Washington Coach Dave Meyer said. “The minute we got them put together, early in the spring when the season started, they just clicked real well together.”

The pair complement each other's games on the court, allowing them to succeed in competition. They also are good friends away from tennis. Blades, just a freshman, said that camaraderie benefits them during play.

“They move well together on the court,” Meyer said. “The communication was very solid.”

At times their play wasn't as solid, but they were able to advance. Hammond and Blades started strong in the opener, but stumbled a bit in the second set. Some state meet jitters play have played a factor and won.

“It's always encouraging to not play your best tennis and still be able to win,” Meyer said. “I do believe that's an indication of a good team that you can fight through when you're not doing your best still do well enough to win.”

The pair had to endure a wait of about 2 1/2 hours before getting to take the court again. The started off slow against Greteman and Hoyt, but shook it off to win in straight sets. The two exchanged service breaks in the opener. The Warriors won in a tiebreaker and rolled in the second set.

“After we won that first set tiebreaker, we kind of relaxed and started playing,” Blades said.

The performance in the second set is what they need tomorrow in the final two rounds. Now that they accomplished their goal of reaching the top four, they have hopes for a title. They will face No. 2 seed West Des Moines Dowling's Elliot Baker and Anthony Forcucci in the semifinals with the winner moving on to a championship match against either top-seeded Kyle Johnson and David DeSimone of Bettendorf, who handed the Warriors their only loss this season, or Dustin Rhoads and Alex Qin of Ames.

“We didn't play our best today,” Blades said. “Tomorrow, hopefully, we'll start playing good again.

"Now, we're trying to win (it all).”

Baker and Forcucci advanced to the semifinals with a hard-fought win over Iowa City West's Iggy Ampuero and Marshal Moellers. The Dowling duo survived with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory.

“It was a good match,” Baker said. “We never really played a team like that. They were pretty aggressive at the net. We were kind of on our heels there a little bit."

Every point was highly contested. Both teams had to earn each one they scored.

“There were only one or two times where we won at love or 15,” Baker said. “Every game was pretty close.”

Baker and Forcucci sat on the hillside as Hammond and Blades played Greteman and Hoyt. Both teams know they're have a tough test to reach the finals.

“They're a great team,” Baker said. “I think we can win, but we have to play well, obviously, to beat them.”

The Warriors aren't alone in the top eight. Fourth-seed Tyler McCann and Mitch Anderson remain in the consolation bracket, beating Iowa City High's Philip Riley and Nathaniel Gier, 7-5, 6-3. After a tough loss to Ames' Rhoads and Qin in the quarterfinals, the Lions rebounded with a 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 (8) win over Guillaume Vorlet and Andy Richter of Waterloo West to advance to the final eight with a chance to place as high as fifth.

Riley and Gier weren't finished after the early loss to Linn-Mar. Riley and Gier handled Johnston's R.J. McGrew and A.J. Naanep, 6-0, 6-1, in the consolation bracket. They also were assured of a top eight finish when they battled back from a one-set deficit to beat West's Ampuero and Moellers, 1-6, 6-2, 1-0 (9) in a third-set tiebreaker.

Despite the opening round setback, their play provided a boost of confidence.

“We knew we were playing well we just had to put a few things together,” Gier said. “We did that in the first consolation match and just continued that and figured out how to play the rest of the day.”

A little teamwork and a never say die attitude helped the Little Hawks improve last year's performance where they didn't win a match at state.

“It's fantastic,” Gier said about moving on to Saturday's placing rounds. “Last year we were 2-and-out. Philip played great. That's what it's all about. We're a good team. I'm proud of us.”

In singles, Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Jeff Damisch earned the No. 4 seed. He made quick work of Clinton's Mitchell Schumacher, 6-1, 6-2. The quarterfinals weren't as friendly. Des Moines Roosevelt's Naveen Nath derailed the Cougar's title hopes with a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

Damisch bounced back with a 6-4, 6-0, consolation win over Roy Ju of Cedar Falls, and will try for a third straight top-six state finish.

Nath advanced to play top-seeded David Knight of Fort Dodge, who advanced to the semifinals with consecutive two-set wins. The winner will face the winner between West des Moines Valley's Matt Sturgeon and Ottumwa's C.J. Ray.