2023 is the first year that the boys team state tournament is all played at one final site from the quarterfinals on. It seems that the changes in regards to districts and team postseason play have gone well this year, and this will mark the last part of those changes for us to see over the next two days. Quarterfinals and semi-finals are played tomorrow and the championship/3rd place match to take place on Thursday. Waukee Nortwest and Pella enter the tournament as the #1 seeds. Last week was a great couple of days with the singles and doubles state tournaments, a lot of good tennis in a short amount of time and new champions were decided. Enjoy some tennis this week as the 2023 edition of Iowa HS Tennis comes to a close.
2022 Team State Tournament Notes
Locations
2A: Waukee Northwest High School (Waukee, IA)
1A: Hawkeye Tennis and Rec Center (Iowa City, IA)
Attendance Fees The IAHSAA is charging an admission fee of $10 per day of the individual state tournament and team state tournament on May 31-JUNE 1. For more information, please visit: https://www.iahsaa.org/tickets/
Live Scoring: Courtesy of the blog here at Iowa HS Tennis, there will be live scoring of the dual meets available to follow along in real time. (Like you would follow along with live stats for a college match). All the dual meets for the day can be viewed here: https://ioncourt.com/leagues/2023-iowa-boys-high-school-team-state-championship
2A Quarterfinals
Waukee NW Breakdown: The most dominant team this season, will get to play host to the team state tournament right in their backyard. The Wolves have a rare opportunity to claim the coveted triple crown as they captured the singles and doubles titles with Kaden Taylor, Kellan Croatt and Jake Nelson. Nonetheless, this program is in its second year of existence! This tournament is Waukee's to lose. The craziest part is the entire cast returns when we turn the page to 2024 next year.
Marshalltown Breakdown: This is the fourth team state appearance for the Bobcats out of Marshalltown and the their third straight to the quarterfinals. 2002 was the year of their best finish in program history finishing 4th as a team then. Led by the singles 6th place finisher from last week in Jason Strand, Marshalltown has had a solid year with only a couple of losses throughout to other ranked foes. Their work is cut out for them out of the gate at 9am tomorrow.
Prediction: Waukee NW def. Marshalltown 5-0
IC West Breakdown: For the 12th consecutive season, the Iowa City West Trojans are in the state tournament. The Trojans will also be vying to make it to as many title matches in that same span again this spring. Wes thas claimed the team state title in 7 of the last 10 seasons and for the third year in a row enter the state tournament as the #2 seed. A clean and straight forward regular season this spring, the only blemish was early on against Waukee NW where the Trojans took a stumble. They have the depth to compete perhaps, but this will be a big uphill battle now in the underdog role.
Cedar Falls Breakdown: A bit of an up-and-down season for the Cedar Falls Tigers in 2023 included a tough schedule against six ranked opponents, proved to be a good sign as this program has made the team state tournament for the second time in program history. 2013 was the last time we saw Cedar Falls in the tournament where they finished as runner-up, to Iowa City West of all teams who they open with tomorrow.
Prediction: IC West def. Cedar Falls 5-0
Pleasant Valley Breakdown: A doubles state runner-up finish a week ago bodes well for the Spartans entering the team tournament this week. A very different looking team compared to their 2022 squad has some promising pieces to keep PV towards to the top as a program across the state. A very pedestrian schedule for the 2023 campaign could show a little bit in their first round against a scrappy Wash team.
Cedar Rapids Washington Breakdown: A second straight trip to the team tournament here this spring for the Warriors out of Cedar Rapids. One of the more storied programs in state history, hasn't captured a team title since 1996, and has finished as runner-up a number of times in between. While there are no studs at the top compared to some other teams, this depth will sneak up on you pretty quick if you are not paying attention.
Prediction: PV def. CR Wash 5-1
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 24th time qualifying for tournament. With just three losses on the year, and two of those being top three ranked teams, the Tigers square off against MVC staple Linn-Mar who they beat in a tightly contested dual in the regular season. A second straight 3rd place state doubles finish, highlights a stronger suit for this Valley team on that side of the ball. Doubles will be the key to their success moving forward.
Linn-Mar Breakdown: 12th team state tournament appearance for the Lions of Linn-Mar. The Lions are looking to get back to the final four after a brief hiatus they have been on. Like Valley, a pretty experienced team without any studs at the top. While doubles is a strong suit for LM, their singles play is nothing to slouch at by any means. A pair of top 8 doubles pairs from the individual state tournament last weekend will all lead the way in what should be another tight battle in the quarterfinals.
Prediction: Valley def. Linn-Mar 5-4
Semi-Finals Prediction:
Waukee NW def. Valley 5-0
IC West def. PV 5-2
Finals Prediction:
Waukee NW def. IC West 5-0
1A Quarterfinals
Pella Breakdown: Pella gets into the 2023 team state tournament as the #1 seed, and they have been on the runner-up side of things for the last three seasons. The Dutch have just one loss on the year to 2A Marshalltown and have otherwise cruised through their schedule. Pella broke through for a doubles state crown this spring and that could be a precursor to the next two days for another breakthrough as a team.
Ballard Breakdown: The Bombers have had an up and down year in 2023 suffering a few more losses than normal with a tough schedule, but then turned it on when it mattered most in the postseason and upended North Polk to reach the quarterfinals. In and out of the top 10 rankings this year, Ballard has a tall task in front of them at 9am tomorrow.
Prediction: Pella def. Ballard 5-0
Xavier Breakdown: A lot lost to graduation for the Saints out of Cedar Rapids for 2022, but that did not seem to matter. Capturing the triple crown last season, Xavier proved doubters wrong and showed they are still a top team in the state. Freshman Charlie LeGrand leads the charge at the top of the lineup and finished a stellar campaign with a singles runner-up finish. Can they get back to the finals and conquer 4 titles in a row?
Glenwood Breakdown: There are no big storylines for Glenwood this season except that I think a lot of people, including myself, are surprised they have made it to this stage of the season. For the second time in program history, the Rams have qualified for the state tournament after an easy regular season with one ranked opponent on the schedule. We will see what kind of play they can display against the 3-time defending team champions.
Prediction: Xavier def. Glenwood 5-0
Decorah Breakdown: Home of the newest singles state champion, Caden Branum has some more business to take care of with his fellow Vikings on the team side of things. Decorah put together a solid schedule considering their geographic challenges, with some out of state competition and the likes of 2A Mason City. The Vikings took down Boone in their regular season encounter 6-3 and they will open with a stiff test out of the gate tomorrow.
Boone Breakdown: Boone came into the season not as high on some people's lists (Including me) and they have been a nice story this year quietly knocking out their opponents one by one. With just two losses to #1 ranked Pella and #3 ranked Decorah, they will need to come out swinging from the first ball to get to the final four.
Prediction: Decorah def. Boone 5-3
Wahlert Breakdown: A big down year by Wahlert's standards has come about this spring. .500 on the year in a tough MVC 2A dominated conference. Nonetheless, stiff competition can provide great preparation for these moments. Will the Golden Eagles add on to their program legacy over the next couple of days?
Spencer Breakdown: Spencer enters the quarterfinals after two straight years in the final four. A very weak schedule once again was on tap for the 2023 season, and your guess will be as good as mine facing a ranked team for the first time all season. They may have the pieces to do it in what I think will be a close match. Let's see how it plays out.
Prediction: Wahlert def. Spencer 5-3
Semi-Finals Prediction:
Pella def. Wahlert 5-2
Xavier def. Decorah 5-2
Finals Prediction:
Pella def. Xavier 5-4
Good luck everyone!
-Iowa HS Tennis
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