CLASS 2A TEAM STATE FINAL FOUR!!!
The grand finale is here!!! 4 teams remain in the quest to win it all and finish as the lone victor. Let's take a look at the semifinal match-ups and analyze who is favored at each position.#1 Iowa City West vs #4 Ankeny Centennial
#1 seed and undefeated Iowa City West (17-0) will take on #4 seed and battle-tested Ankeny Centennial (13-1) in the first semifinal. In order to reach this point, ICW easily breezed past Dubuque Senior and Bettendorf by identical 5-0 scores. This team has been impressive from top-to-bottom and looks to make the finals for the 9th straight year and add their 6th state title in 8 years. #4 Ankeny Centennial is a new competitor to this event and had an extremely tough battle to get here! In substate, the Jaguars were dynamite under pressure as they eeked out an upset 5-4 win over #4 CR Wash then defeated #8 Ames by a 5-4 margin.
Match-Up Predictions
#1 Singles: Sam Shin (ICW) vs. Will Blevins (AC): Toss-Up
What a match-up to start off the semifinals of the Class 2A team-state tournament! Sam Shin of IC West faces Will Blevins of Ankeny Centennial in a rematch of their three-set battle on Friday at individuals which Blevins captured. I expect another barn-burner between these two players and expect it will be the last singles match on if West doesn't pull out a 5-0 sweep. Blevins is a slight favorite after winning, but Shin is capable of pulling out the win as well.
#2 Singles: Jack Wenzel (ICW) vs. Samson Densmore (AC): ICW 1-0
Decent match to be played at #2 singles. This is my first pick in favor of West. Wenzel comes into the match with a 22-4 record and a 7th place singles finish at state with losses to Shin, Ty Sherman of CR Wash, and Luke Van Donslear. Densmore is 7-2 on the year.
#3 Singles: Sasha Chackalackal (ICW) vs. Ryan Lofgren (AC): ICW 2-0
Our first undefeated player in the dual and the third senior for West, Sasha Chackalackal will face off against Ryan Lofgren whose only loss on the year was to Noah Burmeister of Waukee 6-1, 6-1. They have a common opponent in Grayson Zylstra of CR Wash who Lofgren sneaked by in three sets while his West foe defeated him 6-2, 6-1.
#4 Singles: Eli Young (ICW) vs. James Cole (AC): ICW 3-0
Young has been pretty dominant this year at #4 and continues the undefeated trend at West (Singles #3-6 are all undefeated with 21-0 records). Given Young defeated Blumenthal of CR Wash 6-1, 6-0, while Cole lost to Blumenthal in three sets, I gotta pick Young in this one.
#5 Singles: Mukundan Kasturirangan (ICW) vs. Zach Peterson (AC): ICW 4-0
Another undefeated player, another matchup I expect will go ICW's way. Kasturirangan hasn't had a close match yet this season and I expect that will continue to be the case. West's depth is their greatest strength this year and this will be probably the toughest match for Centennial to win.
#6 Singles: Luca Chackalackal (ICW) vs. Joel Unick (AC): ICW 5-0
See #5 singles- Chackalackal is undefeated and hasn't had a tough match yet this season.
#1 Doubles: Shin/Wenzel (ICW) vs. Blevins/Cole (AC): ICW 6-0
If this dual meet does goes doubles, we will see singles qualifiers Sam Shin and Jack Wenzel play against fellow qualifier Will Blevins and James Cole at #1 doubles. Shin and Wenzel are my favorite to win after going 17-0 during the regular season while Blevins/Cole were 3-1.
#2 Doubles: S. Chackalackal/Young (ICW) vs. Densmore/Lofgren (AC): ICW 7-0
State runner-up team at #2 doubles versus state qualifiers who went 1-2 at the state tournament. Densmore and Lofgren should be able to compete with Chackalackal and Young and give a good match but I'm still picking ICW to win after a successful Cedar Rapids run.
#3 Doubles: L. Chackalackal/Kasturirangan (ICW) vs Peterson/Unick: ICW 8-0
Rounding out the first semifinal is a match between Luca Chackalackal and Kasturirangan of IC West vs. Peterson and Unick of Ankeny Centennial. This match shouldn't be close...IC West comes into the match with a 6th place individual finish in the individual tournament and a 21-3 record vs a Jaguar duo that has won 5/7 matches played. I can't see this being much of a match unless West has their worst match of their life.
Prediction: #1 Iowa City Wests defeats #4 Ankeny Centennial 5-0
#2 Pleasant Valley vs #3 Waukee
How about a regular season match-up between two teams which went 5-4 the last time they played? This should be a great match-up between two schools which haven't had tons of history in the team state tournament. Neither has won a team state title, but both will be strong contenders to win it all!
Match-Up Predictions (See Regular Season Result)
#1 Singles: Justin Sehlin (PV) vs. Will Ecklund (W): PV 1-0
2nd place finisher in singles, Justin Sehlin, will take on state doubles champ Will Ecklund. I have Justin Sehlin as a solid favorite in this match after he beat Ecklund during the regular season by a 6-3, 6-2 decision but I would not be surprised if Ecklund can pull out the W....he did impress me by beating 4th place singles finisher Will Blevins in 3 sets during the regular season.
#2 Singles: Nathan Wong (PV) vs. Noah Burmeister (W): W 1-1
I like both of these players but I have to go with Noah Burmeister after he easily beat Wong 6-2, 6-3 in the regular season. Burmeister is undefeated on the year which should continue here.
#3 Singles: Jake Dolphin (PV) vs. Sam Fouts (W): PV 2-1
Regular season score: Dolphin defeated Fouts 6-2, 6-1. Fouts impressed me by taking Jack Wenzel of West so close in the state tourney, but I'm expecting Dolphin to repeat the regular season results.
#4 Singles: Muneeb Nadeem (PV) vs. Steven Danna (W): Toss-Up
This is the first match that could go either way! During the regular season, singles #4-6 were decided by tiebreakers. Danna won the regular season match-up and this will be a fun one...
#5 Singles: Kiran Marla (PV) vs. Pujit Mekala (W): PV 3-1
Marla barely played during the regular season, but takes the #5 singles spot for PV in the final four. He will face off against Pujit Mekala for the first time and it should be tight. Let's see if Marla can play fresh given he has not had nearly as many matches, or if Mekala's more extensive match experience will help guide him to victory.
#6 Singles: Brady Adams (PV) vs. Sai Rayasam (W): PV 4-1
I gotta say, Brady Adams did a nice job in the state individual tournament by beating Caleb Weber of Sioux City North and taking Brian Vandenburg to a tiebreaker in the second set of their match. He's been a nice freshmen addition to PV's team. He didn't play Waukee during the regular season, but I like his chances this time around.
#1 Doubles: Marla/Sehlin (PV) vs. Ecklund/Burmeister (W): W 4-2
PV is changing things up for the state tournament. How many matches do you think their pairings have played together this season? 10? 30? 50? Nope. Only Nadeem and Wong have experience together and that was a single match so if this go doubles, we will be in in for something interesting.
#2 Doubles: Nadeem/Wong (PV) vs. Danna/Fouts (W): PV 5-2
3rd place finisher in doubles, Nathan Wong will be joined by Nadeem at #2 for their second match of the season together. They defeated Danna/Fouts in their only match 6-1, 6-4 so I expect that trend to continue.
#3 Doubles: Adams/Dolphin (PV) vs. Mekala/Rayasam (W): PV 6-2
Adams and Dolphin have not played together this season, but I like their chances. I expect them to be able to pull out the 5th victory to close out the match.
Prediction: #2 Pleasant Valley defeats #3 Waukee 5-3
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
I think West will be advancing to their 9th straight final appearance. I like PV's chances but think it'll be close and Waukee also has a chance to advance. With that being said, my prediction for the final is ICW will defeat PV 5-2. This should be a good match between two great teams! Best of luck to everyone in Ankeny!
2A Redwood
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