2021 State Tournament Notes
Locations
2A is set to be played at the Hawkeye Tennis and Rec. Center in Iowa City as it has been the last few years. Good thing here is if there is poor weather, indoor courts are just inside! 1A is set to be played at Byrnes Park in Waterloo where I believe Black Hawk would be the indoor backup as it was this past Friday. The IGHSAU plans these tournaments out very well so I expect things to be run smoothly!
Attendance Fees
The IGHSAU is charging an admission fee of #10 per day of the individual state tournament and team state tournament on June 5. This was started a couple years ago if I remember correctly and I still am not a fan of it, as I have continued to express over the last week. It will be $10 at the door cash sales only. For more information, please visit https://ighsau.org/news/state-tennis-information-central/
Live Brackets
IGHSAU as they are great with planning and running their tournaments, paired with Varsity Bound for live brackets will be a great resource for all of us that may not be able to make it out to watch!
2A
The Singles Bracket
What a loaded field this year in the singles draw. I say that as the first thing I noticed is the Arunadee Fernando of Ames who was runner-up in 2019 is seeded fourth, which is a big tell to how talented this field is. Very excited to see how this tournament goes and who comes out on top at the end. While I think Gu and Szalay have pretty simple paths to the semi-finals, I believe the middle two sections, particularly Peterson's section are going to be fairly competitive. Peterson is most likely going to advance to the semis, but Bohr and then either De Young or Roeth won't make it very easy. At first glance I don't think there are many seniors here either which makes the next year or two even more exciting leading into the coming seasons with how much talent is still going to be around. Even though my guess is that the top four seeds will hold and make the semis for day two, it is going to be fun to watch and very competitive all throughout the draw to place in the top eight.
Seeds
- Claire Gu, Valley
- Allison Szalay, Dowling
- Abbie Peterson, Centennial
- Arunadee Fernando, Ames
1st Round Match to Watch:
Ella De Young (IC West) v Ally Roeth (Waukee) - In what I believe is going to be the closest first round match, resides two of the top players on their respective teams from the Women of Troy and the Warriors. De Young has played number one and two in the singles lineup for West and Roeth in the top half of her lineup as well. Whichever one makes it through this match is going to have their work cut out for them in the QFs.
The Doubles Bracket
This years state tournament is really showing how deep the talent is across 2A. The doubles draw also is going to be highly contested this year with a number of teams capable of being crowned champions come Thursday. To me, all of the first round matchups that do not involve one of the top 4 seeds looks to be up for the taking. There is great opportunity for a lot of duos to get a first round win and start the tournament off on the right foot and see what kind of damage they can do. That being said, I do think the seeds ended up being what they needed to be and done quite well that all four of them most likely make it to the semi-finals setting up an exciting Thursday morning.
Seeds
- Ava Petersen/Mackenzie Klein, Dowling
- Mira Keeran/Maya Mallavarapu, Cedar Falls
- Caroline & Julianna Mascardo, IC West
- Kathryn Zylstra/Katelynn Kock, CR Wash
1st Round Match to Watch:
Allie Christensen/Dasha Svitashev (Johnston) v Natalie Kaiser/Maddie Sampson-Brown (Dubuque Senior) - As I said above, I think there is a great chance for a lot of duos in the first round that does not involve a seeded team, this matchup being one of them. Svitashev and Kaiser hold down the #1 spots for each of their teams but both duos can bring some big game. No matter how this one turns out, I think both teams have a great chance at playing on day 2.
1A
The Singles Bracket
1A is quite the opposite story when compared to the 2A tournament this year in that there is much less depth across the state this year. This singles bracket in my mind is pretty straight forward for who will make the finals and face off for a championship and the rest of the tournament is going to see who can place 3rd-8th. Hyacinth and Coffey I expect and would be shocked if they do not play each other for the singles title as they are a level up from the rest of the field. Columbus and Xavier did not play during the regular season so neither of these two have played against each other yet. Tess Paton of Fairfield played a lot at the top spot this season which prepares here well for a good run and a shot at Coffey in the semis. Other than that, it is anyones game for the remaining place winner spots!
Seeds
- Sasha Hyacinth, Columbus
- Miyako Coffey, Xavier
- Tess Paton, Fairfield
- Le Yuan Sun, Shenandoah
1st Round Match to Watch:
Any first round match that doesn't involve the top 3 seeds!
The Doubles Bracket
The biggest story in the doubles bracket is that Yana Gaskell of Fairfield is playing! Gaskell the 2019 singles champion is back, after I was sure through the first part of the season she wasn't playing this year. Forget everything I said or I guess I thought back in April in regards to her playing. That does change the whole landscape of the doubles draw this year as she is the best player in 1A by a lot and a top player in all of high school in the state. Carstensen/Burger of Xavier and Butler/Hogan of Columbus are rightly seeded next in line as both pairs have proven they can play and win some big matches over the course of the year. I don't think Fairfield will have trouble reaching the final, but it will be a battle in the other semi-final match with CRX and Columbus. Looking throughout the rest of the draw, there are a lot of solid pairs that will make this a competitive couple of days. Decorah has two good pairs, the Weber sisters from Union, Xavier's second pair, Assumption and Grinnell to name some are all capable of winning some good matches.
Seeds
- Yana Gaskell/Penelope Higdon, Fairfield
- Courtney Carstensen/Ally Burger, Xavier
- Chloe Butler/Avery Hogan, Columbus
- Landry Miller/Allison Narmi, St. Albert
1st Round Match to Watch:
Elli Hanson/Sophia Butler (Spirit Lake) v Morgan Brauer/Cady Peterson (Decorah) - Both duos come from two teams who made significant progress over the 2021 season. Fairly even duos, this one could come down to the wire and would be a really solid win for either side to kick off the tournament.
Enjoy the tournaments!
-Iowa HS Tennis
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