Xavier girls are 1A runner-up, Wash third in 2A

IOWA CITY – There's a new champion in Class 2A girls' team tennis, but in 1A the third verse is the same as the first.

Defending state champion Cedar Rapids Washington dropped its 2A team tennis semifinal, 5-1, to eventual state champion Des Moines Saturday at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.

'They're just top tournament-level kids,” Washington Coach Spencer Eells said of Roosevelt. 'Their one, two, three, four and five have been to the state tournament.”

With the Warriors trailing, 4-0, senior Laura Gibson kept hope alive at No. 6 singles with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Roosevelt's Jenna Pokomy. Sophomore Eliza Sundermann battled against two-time state qualifier Shivani Kumaresan at five, only to lose, 6-3, 6-4 and send Roosevelt to the final.

'Eliza played the best match of her life right there to give her a run for her money,” Eells said. 'Laura winning at six was awfully nice, but they're just too strong.”

In the third-place match, Washington (19-2) blanked Urbandale, 5-0. Roosevelt completed a perfect 17-0 season with a 5-2 triumph over previously-unbeaten Pleasant Valley (16-1) to claim its first state championship.

What remains to be seen is if Eells will continue to coach the Warriors. After being hired just two weeks before the start of the season in what he termed an interim position, Eells may have another year in him before freeing his schedule to watch son Jackson play for the Linn-Mar boys' team.

'It was fun. I certainly enjoyed the coaching, taking the kids into competition,” Eells said. 'Whereas the teaching tennis, you're teaching the stroke or you're teaching a strategy without really applying it. This is the application so it's really fun to get to coach them during a match, plot strategy with them, and really, mental toughness in the heat of the battle, so it's fun.”

In the 1A team tournament, Cedar Rapids Xavier survived a grueling four-hour semifinal with Ballard, 5-4, and reached the 1A final for the first time in school history Saturday at Prairie Ridge Sports Complex in Ankeny.

'We had our chances in singles,” Xavier Coach Matt Foxhoven said. 'It didn't work out the way we wanted. 3-3 and we dropped our first doubles match, but having the three leaders, the three seniors in those two matches were huge.”

Xavier was a match away from dropping the semifinal until senior twins Jeanne and Claire Bouchard evened the dual with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 1 doubles over Ballard's Emily Jurgensen and Meredith Ossian. Senior Allison Jasper and junior Katie Neumeyer sent the Saints to the final, 7-5, 7-6, 10-3, against Alex Petersen and Rylee Cahill.

The semifinal triumph gave Xavier (13-8) another shot at Waterloo Columbus, which eliminated them in doubles during the 1A semifinals last season and opened this season with a narrow 5-4 win. This time, the Saints just ran out of gas and were blanked, 5-0.

It is the third-consecutive state championship for Waterloo Columbus (12-1) and 10th in the past 15 years. Xavier ends its season at 13-8.

'I think it's just great for our program going forward,” Foxhoven said. 'I think in a few days it will kind of sink in what they did and what they've achieved the last couple of years. I think they'll be really happy with it.”

CLASS 2A TEAM TENNIS STATE TOURNAMENT

AT IOWA CITY

Semifinal

Des Moines Roosevelt 5, C.R. Washington 1

Singles -

Mary Hill (DMR) def. Lilly Hartman 6-2, 6-1; Alex Kozlowski (DMR) def. Hannah Sherman 6-1, 6-2; Eren Sagun (DMR) def. Kelly King 6-1, 6-0; Meera Prasad (DMR) def. Jennifer Greif 6-2, 6-3; Shivani Kumaresan (DMR) def. Eliza Sunderman 6-3, 6-4; Laura Gibson (CRW) def. Jenna Pokomy 6-2, 6-3.

Third-place

C.R. Washington 5, Urbandale 0

Singles -

Lily Hartman def. Abby Reis 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (6); Hannah Sherman def. Maddie Trow 6-1,6-1; Kelly King def. Brynn Reichardt 6-3, 6-3; Jennifer Greif def. Emma Kohls 6-2, 6-0; Eliza Sunderman (CRW) vs. Jackie Kaiser (U) DNF; Laura Gibson def. Katie Twedt 6-0, 6-0.

CLASS 1A TEAM TENNIS STATE TOURNAMENT

AT ANKENY

Semifinal

C.R. Xavier 5, Ballard 4

Singles -

Allison Jasper (CRX) def. Emily Jurgensen 6-1, 6-1; Alex Peterson (B) def. Jeanne Boucheard (CRX) 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 (7); Claire Bouchard (CRX) def. Meredith Ossian 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (6); Katie Neumeyer (CRX) def. Rylee Cahill 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (5); Olivia Astarita (B) def. Megan D'mello 6-0, 6-1; Hannah Astarita (B) def. Nina Marquardt 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (6).

Doubles -

Bouchard/Bouchard (CRX) def. Jurgenson/Ossian 6-3, 6-4; Jasper/Neimeyer (CRX) def. Petersen/Cahill 7-5, 7-6 (3); Astarita/Astarita (B) def. D'mello/Marquardt 6-2, 6-3.

State championship

Waterloo Columbus 5, C.R. Xavier 0

Singles -

Olivia Fain def. Allison Jasper 6-4, 6-4; Lauren McManus def. Jeanne Boucheard 6-2, 6-2; Maggie Weber def. Claire Bouchard 6-2, 6-4; Karlee Sinnott (WC) vs. Katie Neumeyer (CRX) DNF; Brianne Eighme def. Megan D'mello 6-0, 6-2; Franny Roche def. Nina Marquardt 7-5, 6-1.

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