2A
Semi-Finals
#1 Dowling v #4 Valley
Dowling Breakdown: Starting things off with maybe the hottest team in Girls 2A over the last week. Allison Szalay claimed the singles title yesterday while the duo of Ava Petersen & Mackenzie Klein finished runner-up in a highly contested doubles final. Isa Valverde & Ella Spanovic also had a nice tournament claiming 5th in doubles. A very successful individual state tournament for Dowling sets them up well heading into Saturday and this is one of the best Dowling teams in recent memory. They haven't quite cracked making the finals over the last decade that I could find, but this year seems to be a prime opportunity for that and to capture a team title.
Valley Breakdown: Number one player Claire Gu finished runner-up in the singles state tournament yesterday which added to a tremendous rookie season for the Tigers. Gu will get a rematch with Szalay tomorrow as Valley looks to upset the Maroons to claim a spot in the finals. Valley is 12-2 on the year with their losses coming to Dowling and Centennial, and the Tigers avenged their loss to Centennial in the quarterfinals. If Valley wants a good shot, it will once again need to get to doubles, and preferably at a 3-3 score instead of 2-4. Gu may have to be the one that turns things around to get Valley another point and put the pressure on in doubles. This is a good team that will hang around if you let them.
Prediction: Dowling def. Valley 5-1
#2 Iowa City West vs #3 Cedar Falls
Iowa City West Breakdown: The Women of Troy yet again are back in the final four where they have finished runner-up in 2019 and state champions in 2018. West had a good showing in the singles and doubles state tournament over the past couple of days with the Mascardo sisters claiming 4th in doubles and Ella De Young finishing 8th in singles. A big concern for this team is now De Young as she had to default her consolation matches yesterday due to some back issues and hopes this extra day of rest will help for team play tomorrow. De Young pushed eventual 4th place singles finisher Abbie Petersen to the brink in the quarterfinals showing how capable she can be hanging with the top players. What is going to propel West to the finals for a third state year is the middle part of the lineup with the Mascardo sisters and Caroline Chandler.
Cedar Falls Breakdown: Cedar Falls and West met to open the 2021 season back in April in what still could be the match of the year up to this point. Cedar Falls fell 4-5 and that is their only blemish on the year as a team. Newly crowned doubles champions Mira Keeran and Maya Mallavarapu look to lead the Tigers to the championship match tomorrow afternoon. Madison Sages also had a great singles tournament taking home 5th place. This is going to be a very close meet and I am not sure if both teams have the same lineups they did against each other in April. Keeran, Mallavarapu and Sagers are going to need to come up big to pull this win off.
Prediction: Cedar Falls def. Iowa City West 5-4
Finals Prediction: Dowling def. Cedar Falls 5-3
1A
Semi-Finals
#1 Xavier vs #4 Spirit Lake-Okoboji
Xavier Breakdown: Defending champs are still alive and ready to try and grab back to back titles. The Saints are coming off a nearly flawless individual tournament where Courtney Carstensen & Ally Burger scored a doubles championship, Miyako Coffey took runner-up in singles in a crazy final, and Ella Tallett & Avery Link took 3rd in doubles. In what I think is the strongest team in 1A this year, this is Xavier's title to lose. Coffey the senior will need to keep everyone focused and on their game to repeat the title tomorrow as you have to take it, nothing is going to be given.
Spirit Lake-Okoboji Breakdown: The Indians have had a strong season this year with only one loss coming at the hands of Columbus. Catherine Straus put together a nice singles tournament over the last couple of days and finished 6th, and the team also had a duo qualify in the doubles tournament. I don't really know much about this team other than the fact their best win was probably the quarterfinals win against Red Oak. It will take a miracle for Spirit Lake to take out Xavier but that is why we play right?
Prediction: Xavier def. Spirit Lake-Okoboji 5-0
#2 Columbus vs #3 Fairfield
Columbus Breakdown: Newcomer Sasha Hyacinth won an epic state singles final on Thursday to give this storied program another chapter in program history. Along with Hyacinth on the singles side, Brenna Phillips took home 5th and Chloe Butler/Avery Hogan claimed 4th in the doubles field. Ranked #2 all year in the Iowa HS Tennis Team Rankings, Columbus looks to tack on another team title and begins with a semi-final bout against Fairfield. The Sailors will need to look to their depth in this first match to make it to the finals.
Fairfield Breakdown: Yana Gaskell is going to be the x-factor for Fairfield tomorrow if they want to get past Columbus for a shot at the state title. Gaskell as I was mistaken earlier on this year is actually playing this season and she teamed up with Penelope Higdon for a runner-up finish in the doubles tournament on Thursday. Tess Paton who had her fair share of play at the number on position ended with a 3rd place finish in the singles field. While Fairfield may have not played as many strong opponents as other teams, they still have some solid players that can get it done, starting with Gaskell a former singles champion herself. She will need to get things started for the Trojans.
Prediction: Columbus def. Fairfield 5-2
Finals Prediction: Xavier def. Columbus 5-3
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