The girls are set to get their postseason competition underway on Wednesday, beginning with the individual regionals hosted at 16 sites across the state. 414 players on 69 teams will begin their quest for singles and doubles state tournament berths, and ultimately, a chance at a championship. 2A returns the defending state champions in Claire Gu of Valley (singles) and Katelynn Kock/Kathryn Zylstra of CR Wash (doubles), where 1A saw the graduation of the trio of state champions from Cedar Rapids Xavier.
Class 1A Tidbits
Host: Spencer
I anticipate Spirit Lake to get multiple entries to the state tournament out of this site at Spencer. Catherine Straus leads the way who finished top 4 in singles a year ago. Spirit Lake also had a doubles pair reach the tournament last year. After this team, maybe there will be a surprise by the end of tomorrow.
Host: Atlantic
Quite a competitive region here at Atlantic with the likes of St. Albert, Lewis Central and Clarinda, all of which had state qualifiers last year in Lanee Olsen, Taylor Cole and Landry Narmi. Could all of these same players make it through again? Definitely. This site is shaping up to be quite a competitive one as tomorrow rolls around and I expect the state tournament berths to be at a high premium over on the west side.
Host: Pella
Pella and Pella Christian seem to always be paired, and sometimes co-host a regional, that seems to be the case again. Emily Blom of Pella has been to state before in her young career and will be looking to get back to it again. Katy Roose from Pella Christian beat Blom in a tight match a week or two ago, and throw in Grace Peck from Saydel who has 12 singles wins to her name this year, a potential strong singles bracket is incoming tomorrow. Red Oak may get an entry through by the end of the day, but I think Pella and PC will be the ones to beat.
Host: Columbus
We can just about pencil in the Sailors of Columbus running away with all the state tournament berths at their home site of Byrnes Park.
Host: Grinnell
Xavier has proved they can hang with the top teams in the state, and face a strong schedule in the MVC with mostly 2A teams. That being said, the Saints have a great opportunity to get all of their entries to state this year with a weaker regional compared to 2022. While it won't be a disaster if it doesn't happen with a lot of new faces getting postseason experience for the first time, it surely could be a little disappointing.
Host: Decorah
A region I do not know a ton about as Decorah who sits ranked #9, is the highest and only ranked team that will be here. Annalise Skrade of the Vikings is a returning doubles state qualifier from last year who I expect to make state in one of the two fields this year. This is a regional that I think presents massive opportunities for a lot of players.
Host: Mount Vernon
This is where I think the most competitive regional is going to be on Wednesday. #8 ranked Elise Davison of Camanche and Natalee Hartman/Michaela Goad of Marion headline the Mount Vernon site as state tournament qualifiers in singles & doubles respectively. They are joined by #7 ranked Central DeWitt led by top 10 ranked played in Lexy Cooper. Let's also not forget about Dubuque Wahlert being here! Incredibly premium spots up for grabs at the Mount Vernon/Cornell courts tomorrow. Excited to see how this one plays out.
Host: Fairfield/Maharishi
#3 ranked Assumption leads the charge down in Fairfield and is a team I expect to get multiple bids to state. Mary Rolfstad a state singles place winner in 2022, along with teammate Ella Diullio who was state doubles runner-up are favorites to get back to the tournament in either field they are entered in. The other potential pair to keep an eye on is Presley Blommers and Lucy Roach of Oskaloosa who were in the state doubles field a year ago.
Class 2A Tidbits
Host: Ames
Pencil in and basically punch her ticket to the state singles tournament, #3 ranked Abbie Peterson of Ankeny Centennial. This is her field to lose and I do not see that happening. Ames would be the next team who I think has flirted with being a top 10 team this year, could get some players moving on in their season. Norwalk is also another team that has been right on the edge of being top 10 this year led by Kelsey Dammeier. Give me Ames and Norwalk battling for the doubles berths and singles runner-up.
Host: Waukee NW
I will take the defending team state champs to get multiple bids if not everyone into the state tournament at the end of the day on Wednesday. A deep and talented Maroon squad led by #5 ranked Ava Peterson, the Maroons are looking to reclaim some of the individual titles in 2023. Waukee maybe could provide a little resistance but I am fully on board with Dowling being in command over in Central Iowa.
Host: Valley
Home to defending singles state champ, and #1 ranked Claire Gu, this is Valley's to lose at their home site. After losing a few key players from 2022, the Tigers have shown they still can be a power and remain in the top 4 as a team. Is it expected for Valley to send everyone to state? I am not sure and would say not necessarily. Kira Smith of Ankeny is the next best player in the field, who was a singles qualifier last year as a freshman. While she has battled injuries in 2023, she is my pick for the other singles bid after Gu. Jeena Carle of CBAL unluckily drew having Valley (and Smith) in the field, and will have to navigate her way through them to get back to the state tournament.
Host: Marshalltown
A very interesting site over at Marshalltown with Iowa City Liberty getting shipped this way. Returning state singles qualifier and top 10 ranked Ella Gilbert headlines this regional. Gilbert I anticipate is going singles again and would be the favorite for the regional title. Along with Liberty is also top 10 ranked Johnston who is going to put forth some solid players and I expect to get one or more bids to state. Look out for Urbandale and Celine Matthews of Mason City to play spoiler.
Host: Iowa City West
Maybe the most intriguing site this year in terms of storylines? IC West who had many players sit out last season, are all nearly back this year and have the Women of Troy in the top 10 as a team along with Julianna Mascardo in the top 10 for individually ranked players. On the other side, Cedar Falls who was top 4 as a team last year has had some struggles in 2023 with some up and down results. It is rumored that Maya Mallavarapu and Madison Sagers will be in the doubles field this year, so that will be interesting to see. Don't forget about Sasha Hyacinth, a 2022 singles state qualifier in her own name is also in this field! Keep an eye on Iowa City tomorrow, especially seeing who West enters into what field.
Host: CR Washington
Top ranked CR Washington gets to host their own regional this year, and will be led by defending state doubles champions in Katelynn Kock and Kathryn Zylstra. Reports tell me that Kock and Zylstra are going doubles again to defend their title. If that is the case, that opens the door on the singles side for a few other players to get a state bid. Lily Holland a freshman at Jefferson would be my favorite to win the singles field. After Lily and Kock/Zylstra, Wash should be very tough to get through, but let's see what happens.
Host: Pleasant Valley
The Spartans should fair quite well against a fairly weak field and get most if not all their bids to the state tournament. Lauren Masengarb will be interesting for me to see if she is in singles or doubles.
Host: Clinton
I think the Clinton site is predictable, yet also unpredictable. Andrea Porubcin who may pair up with transfer Allison Halligan, may enter the doubles field where Porubcin has been a state qualifer in both singles and doubles in years past. Clinton has had an underwhelming year and Anna Current I don't think has performed as well as she has hoped this spring. If the Bettendorf pair go doubles, that opens the door for Current in the singles field.
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