Districts Recap + Prelim Substate

First major day of post-season is complete and we are pushing forward. District team champions were crowned and individuals qualified for the state singles and doubles tournament. Let's take a look at some of the results from Districts and what Substate will provide for us.

Waukee

2A Boys:

District Team Winners:
IC West
Linn-Mar
Valley
Pleasant Valley
Ames
CR Wash
Ankeny Centennial
Waukee

Not much of a surprise here, every team that was expected to win districts did. Saturday the 12th features preliminary substate and a chance for the 2nd/3rd place teams at districts to move on to the round of 16. I think all of the hosts tomorrow (or Monday) will end up victorious and join their district winner in the round of 16.

Preliminary Substate matchups can be found here: Prelim Substate

Individuals: Congratulations to all of the state qualifiers! Big accomplishment. I had posted on twitter my initial thoughts of the individual qualifiers for the state tournament. First, IC West qualified all 4 entries, Linn-Mar, Valley and Ames each qualified 3 of their entries. Next, Linn-Mar decided to pair Hediger and VanDonslear together. Hediger had played all season at #1 doubles with Lucas Huffman and this could make seeding interesting. Although Hediger/VanD are a strong pair, they do not have the matches together to warrant a top seed. That being said, I think this duo along with Sherman/Scheetz or CR Wash will be the teams to beat. On the singles side, Tim Ellis of Ames and Rami Hemaidan I would expect to be the top 2 seeds in one order or another. I think these 2 are a step up from the rest of the field this year, but that doesn't mean other players can't make a splash.

Kuemper Catholic

1A Boys:

District Team Winners:
Boone
Spencer
Atlantic
Kuemper Catholic
Pella
Fairfield Maharishi
Waverly-Shell Rock
Dubuque Wahlert

Biggest story line in 1A district play was that Glenwood did not finish top 3 in their district. A tremendous season was halted on Wednesday, and the Rams should feel proud about the season they put together. The teams that were expected to claim a district title did and they will be awaiting their opponents from preliminary substate that is tomorrow (and Monday). I would bet the host teams will advance, but I am not as certain with that as I am of 2A. We do know Ballard has reached the round of 16 with their win over Saydel today.

Preliminary Substate matchups found here: Prelim Substate

Individuals: Biggest story in the individual qualifiers in 1A is Kai Vessey of Fairfield Maharishi has qualified in the doubles field. Vessey was the state singles runner-up in 2017 and will not be competing for the singles crown this year. 2017 Doubles state runner-up the Willis's of Waverly-Shell Rock are set to take the next step for a doubles championship this year. The doubles field is competitive this year with WSR, Glenwood, Fairfield Maharishi and Dubuque Wahlert having solid pairs. In singles, 2017 doubles state champion Jon Lansing of CR Xavier may be the early favorite. However, the singles field offers a lot of opportunities for players to compete for the state title and it should be competitive. One note, Tanner Finken of Kuemper Catholic who finished top 4 in singles last year was defeated in his district final by Reed Miller of St. Albert Council Bluffs.


Thanks for reading! Next week I will provide a recap of the Girls Individual Regional tournaments, preview of Boys Substate and continuing the coverage of Girls Team Regional play.