One season preview down, three to go. Next up is the 1A Boys! Season previews are just the beginning of the content here at Iowa HS Tennis with the start of the tennis season just underway and the first matches getting ready to go next week. With many exciting things coming (some new surprises), take a few minutes to check out some of the key information about the 1A Boys division.
Key Dates:
March 10 - First Practices
March 27 - First day of matches
May 8 - Individual districts
May 12 - Team districts begin
May 23-24 - Individual state tournament
May 31-June 1 - Team final four
Storylines
3 time defending team state champions Cedar Rapids Xavier lost 4 of 6 starters from last years squad. Ryan Schmit is the highest returnee for the Saints. Are they going to be in rebuild mode or have a lot of pieces right now to contend for a 4th straight crown?
Is this the year that Pella finally gets over the hump and wins a team title for the first time in program history? They have played runner-up to Xavier the last three years running.
A ton of talent was lost to graduation after last season, leaving a lot of room for opportunity for any returning and new players for the 2023 campaign, along with zero boys college tennis commitments for this fall as of March 21.
Team State Title Contenders
Pella: Coach Brandt's Pella team has been on the brink of supremacy each of the last three seasons, but has ran into the buzzsaw that Xavier has been in that time frame. With the Saints graduating over half of their starting lineup, is this the year the Dutch get it done?? The older of the two Briggs brothers, Caleb has departed, and that is the only loss in the starting lineup for Pella from 2022. An experienced and hungry team, the Dutch open the season as a favorite to bring the title home this year.
Decorah: State singles finalist Caden Branum is back atop of the lineup for the Vikings in 2023 and is the heavy favorite to win singles this spring. In addition, Decorah returns the most players in their lineup after Pella, of the teams that finished in the top 10 at the conclusion of 2022. A potential preseason top two ranking shows the goods that this team could have to press for a team championship.
Spencer: Spencer is kind of new to the scene over the last couple of seasons. Back-to-back years in the final four, the Tigers have emerged as a solid program in the west reaching the last four teams for the first time since 2008 back two seasons ago. Only two of the starting six from last season are gone to graduation, meaning a good core group is back to try and push the Tigers over over the hump and make the team finals. With no studs on the team compared to some other programs, Spencer's depth is going to be the key to a deep run.
Other teams to watch: Xavier, Wahlert
Players to Watch
Ethan Moon - North Polk
Caden Branum - Decorah
Ryan Schmit - Xavier
Jack Briggs - Pella
Roan Martineau - Wahlert
Tate Neymeyer - Aplington-Parkersburg
Tanner Laube - Grundy Center
Josh Steffen - Storm Lake
Sam Feldmann - Spencer
Daniel Skrade - Decorah
I wouldn't say there is really any big or major news entering this spring season on the 1A Boys front. Xavier lost a lot of guys, including all of the state individual champs from last year. Caden Branum and Ethan Moon are the two best players in the division this year and it probably isn't very close after that. Branum is my pick to win state singles this year and be on a collision course to meet Moon in the finals (Branum defeated Moon in the singles semis last year with little trouble). After that, the focus is really on the team title and which team will make that leap now that Xavier has lost a lot of their experience from the past three years. With a ton of players graduating, it feels like a down year for the 1A boys, not having a ton of exciting things to really follow at this point (yet). Pella surely has to feel good about their chances this go around and has the most experience returning with 5 of 6 starters back and a lot of deep tournament runs finishing runner-up the last three seasons. After that, it will be fun to see how things progress and enjoy the unknown!
Team State Prediction
SF: Pella def. Xavier
SF: Decorah def. Spencer
F: Pella def. Decorah
Singles State Champion Prediction
Caden Branum, Decorah
Doubles State Champions Prediction
Jack Briggs/Josh Roozeboom, Pella
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