We just had a tremendous week of Boys State Tennis on the singles and doubles side a few days ago and now the tide turns to team play after the Memorial Day holiday. First of all, I am hoping for nice weather and outdoor play as that tremendously prevents the day from being incredibly long, but also it's great to be outside to enjoy some tennis right? Only 4 teams remain in both the 2A and 1A brackets vying for a state championship. The big story going into Tuesday is Pleasant Valley getting the #1 seed over Iowa City West who had been ranked #1 all season every week in the coaches poll and the Iowa HS Tennis Team Rankings. Must of been quite the coaches seeding meeting.
2022 Team State Tournament Notes
Locations
2A - Prairie Ridge Sports Complex - Ankeny
1A - Waveland Tennis Center - Des Moines
Attendance Fees
The IHSAA charges an admission fee of $10 per day per site at the team state tournaments.
Individuals will need to have a ticket to get into the state tournament and as a result will receive a wristband. Take your chances on getting one or not as they didn't take tickets at any site for the individual tournament last week. Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.iahsaa.org/tickets/
Live Results
I am not sure if the state association will be updating brackets or posting results but I sure will be tweeting out results hopefully match by match.
2A Singles & Doubles Draws
1A Singles & Doubles Draws
2A
Semi-Finals
#1 Pleasant Valley v #4 Valley
Pleasant Valley Breakdown: A singles and doubles state runner-up finish a week ago proves that the Spartans have the pieces to win their first state team title in program history on Tuesday. With 5 seniors in the lineup, there is a ton of experience that will lead Pleasant Valley as the #1 seed against Valley in the semi-finals. The Spartans were my team to beat the day after the 2021 season ended last year for the 2022 season and are in position to do just that. Jake Dolphin the state singles runner-up along with state doubles runner-ups in Brady Adams & Nathan Barlow are going to have to be at their best finishing out their high school careers if they want to go out of top.
Valley Breakdown: Valley enters the team state tournament once again and is one of the richest programs in Iowa High School history, with this being the 22nd time in program history making the team final four. The Tigers come into the tournament with just one loss on the year, at the hands of Waukee Northwest in a tightly contested 5-4 loss. Valley otherwise has been pretty business like this year claiming wins against ranked foes in Marshalltown, Dowling, Johnston and Mason City along the way. This team may not have a stud at the top like the other three teams remaining, but do have great depth across the board. Cam Johnson & Vyas Amalkar took home a 3rd place finish in the state doubles tournament last week.
Prediction: Pleasant Valley def. Valley 5-1
#2 Iowa City West v #3 Waukee NW
Iowa City West Breakdown: Here come the Trojans back into the final four for the 11th consecutive season and will be vying to make it to an 11th straight title match. West has claimed the team state title in 6 of the last 9 seasons and for the second year in a row enter the final four as the #2 seed. Last week we saw the Trojans add another milestone to their program legacy with Jayden Shin & Samir Singh capturing the doubles crown and having their top two singles players earn top 8 finishes in the singles draw. West is undefeated on the season and has been ranked #1 in the coaches poll as well as the Iowa HS Tennis Team rankings all year and fall to the #2 spot on Tuesday. There is a lot of work in front of this team, and that starts with the first year program in Waukee Northwest.
Waukee Northwest Breakdown: Maybe the easiest breakdown to write in terms discussing program history as the Wolves are in their inaugural season this spring. While there is not much history yet, they do have half of the 2021 state doubles tandem, who also placed 3rd in singles this year in Kaden Taylor. An incredibly young team, Waukee NW will be very good for the foreseeable future. A season highlighted by a thrilling 5-4 win over Valley and wins over other ranked opponents in Mason City, Marshalltown and Dowling, the Wolves come into the semi-finals with an undefeated and have to match up against the gold standard of Iowa High School tennis over the last decade, Iowa City West.
Prediction: Iowa City West def. Waukee Northwest 5-1
Finals Prediction: Pleasant Valley def. Iowa City West 5-4
1A
Semi-Finals
#1 Xavier v #4 Spencer
Xavier Breakdown: Back-to-back team champions from 2019 and 2021, Xavier headlines this years final four as the favorite to go for a three-peat. The Saints have only one loss this year in a gauntlet of the MVC with their lone loss coming to Iowa City West, but wins coming over ranked foes in Linn-Mar, Cedar Falls and Wahlert during their impressive season. Brady Horstmann brought home a state singles title while Declan Coe and Hugh Courter took home the doubles crown last week. Xavier is in prime position to capture the triple crown.
Spencer Breakdown: Spencer enters the final four for a second straight year with an undefeated team record. A very weak schedule is highlighted by wins over two ranked opponents in LeMars and then Denison in the team quarterfinal. The Tigers did have two doubles pairs compete in the state tournament last week with DeWitt/Johnson securing a 6th place finish. With no competitive schedule all year, Spencer won't have as much prep and experience playing a team of Xavier's caliber in the semis and I'd expect a 4th place finish to end their season.
Prediction: Xavier def. Spencer 5-0
#2 Pella v #3 Wahlert
Pella Breakdown: The other half of the last two team state finals are the Dutch of Pella. 2019 was an epic battle that had Pella on the wrong end of the stick and they fell again last year in the title match. Once again, coming into the final four as the #2 seed, the Dutch would really like to break the hold that Xavier has at that top. A little bit stronger of a schedule then Spencer but still on the weaker side, Pella's record is unblemished and they have wins over ranked teams in Ballard, Boone and Grinnell. The Briggs Bros finished runner-up in state doubles and will be key players in the semi-final round.
Wahlert Breakdown: Wahlert is traditionally one of the best programs in all of Iowa High School state tennis history and actually have the most team state titles for any boys program at 10. Maybe not one of their strongest teams in recent memory, but this is still a good team that is going to be a tough out for Pella and anyone they have faced over the year. With five matches against ranked teams, Wahlert should be well prepared from the dominant 2A schedule they faced most of the year but will have to get things going early on Tuesday.
Prediction: Wahlert def. Pella 5-4
Finals Prediction: Xavier def. Wahlert 5-1
-Iowa HS Tennis
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