2022 season is here and I am ready to get the show on the road next week! First practice date was nearly two weeks ago and in typical Iowa fashion, we actually had some good weather during that first week and then reality set back in this week with cold temperatures and more rain. How we missed that classic Iowa HS Tennis weather. Another edition of the high school tennis season is about to commence. In what is one of the most exciting times of the year, players, coaches and teams across the state are doing their best to get practices in before competition begins. Each season brings a new wave of talent and brings a new set of players who have breakout seasons. I'll stop rambling on now and get to the main event below. Here is the 2022 Iowa HS Tennis Season Preview!
2A Boys
Team State Title Contenders
Pleasant Valley: The last time the Spartans were on the court together resulted in a 3rd place team finish at the state tournament last June. In what has to be the most epic state semi-final team match we have seen in a long time (if not ever), Pleasant Valley narrowly missed out on a chance at a state title after a six and a half hour marathon. Good news is, five of the six starters from that team are all back only losing #6 singles and half of #2 doubles in Luke Brunsvold. Talk about determination and being hungry to win it all, this is the team that will exemplify that to its max this spring. Jake Dolphin and Brady Adams return and form one of the best 1-2 punches in the state, and along with the rest of the experienced squad, the Spartans are gunning for their first team state title in program history.
Iowa City West: The other half of that incredible semi-final match last spring, the Trojans came all the way back from being a couple of points away from losing in singles to sweeping doubles and reaching their 10th straight team state final dating back to 2011. There are two main story lines within the Iowa City juggernaut heading into the 2022 season. The Trojans have lost Eli Young and Mukundan Kasturirangan, fixtures in their lineup the last few years to graduation. Luca Chacklackal and Jayden Shin will hold down the fort at the top of the lineup boasting another strong 1-2 punch in the state with a talented lineup to follow behind them. The other main storyline? (Former) Head Coach Mitch Gross stepped down from the program after 22 seasons, amassing 8 state titles and 5 runner-up finishes. At this time to my knowledge, we do not know who will be filling Coach Gross's shoes this season.
Other teams to watch: Valley, Marshalltown, Linn-Mar
Players to Watch
Daniel Lu, Dowling Catholic
Jake Dolphin, Pleasant Valley
Luca Chacklackal, Iowa City West
Brady Adams, Pleasant Valley
Caleb Petersen, Ankeny Centennial
Parker Sprague, CR Kennedy
Jayden Shin, Iowa City West
Kaden Taylor, Waukee Northwest
Quinn Monson, Waukee
Headlining the player field this year is none other than defending state singles champ, Daniel Lu of Dowling. Lu has a chance to go for back-to-back singles titles and be the first to do so since Jiung Jung (IC West), who actually won three in a row from 2015-2017. Lu will enter 2022 as a big favorite to repeat his crown. Kaden Taylor and Quinn Monson who won the state doubles title last year as Waukee Warriors will now become rivals this year with the opening of the new Waukee NW high school. Taylor has moved over to Waukee NW while Monson remains with the Warriors. Luca Chacklackal from Iowa City West finished last season with a doubles runner-up finish and will most likely hold down the top spot for the Trojans this season. Luca's teammate Jayden Shin will begin his second full tennis season this year and emerged as a top player in 2021 and played at the #4 spot. Expect Shin to move up to #2 and be a contender in the individual state tournament. Pleasant Valley has a very tough duo at the top with Christopher Newport commit Jake Dolphin and his compatriot Brady Adams. These two are hoping to lead the Spartans to their first ever team state championship and could have a strong possibility at winning the doubles crown. Parker Sprague narrowly missed out on placing in the top 8 last year in the singles field after a tough draw. Sprague who is committed to UW-Whitewater for next fall, is back as the top player for CR Kennedy and will press his luck most likely in the singles field again come May.
Team State Prediction
SF: Pleasant Valley def. Waukee NW
SF: Iowa City West def. West Des Moines Valley
F: Pleasant Valley def. Iowa City West
Singles State Champion Prediction
Daniel Lu, Dowling
Doubles State Champions Prediction
Dolphin/Adams, Pleasant Valley
1A Boys
Team State Title Contenders
Cedar Rapids Xavier: The Saints are back to back state champions and this year return most of the lineup from the 2021 winning team. Led by senior and UW-La Crosse commit, Brady Horstmann, Xavier is in prime position to make it a three-peat this May and be the first team to do so across any division since Iowa City West boys did from 2012-2014. Horstmann who is the defending state doubles champion is joined by fellow seniors Declan Coe, Hugh Courter and Trenton Link. This group of seniors have the experience to lead CRX to another title, will they make it three in a row?
Dubuque Wahlert: Coming fresh off a 3rd place team finish a year ago, the Golden Eagles are hoping to recapture the team title, the last being in 2018. Wahlert, one of the most storied programs in the state, has the most team titles in state history with 10, and they won an impressive 6 in a row from 2004-2009. While they haven't been able to break the barrier over the last few years, this team will be a tough cookie come postseason and should make another deep run in the tournament. While the graduation of #1 Charlie Fair hurts, there are plenty of returning players such as Jack Freiburger and Roan Martineau and others that are capable to pushing Wahlert deep into the tournament.
Other teams to watch: Pella, Spencer
Players to Watch
Brady Horstmann, Cedar Rapids Xavier
Caden Branum, Decorah
Roan Martineau, Dubuque Wahlert
Caleb Briggs, Pella
Seth Blackford, Marion
Ethan Moon, North Polk
Grant Love, Estherville Lincoln
Colin Reis, Denison-Schleswig
Xavier's Brady Horstmann, who will be playing his college tennis at UW-La Crosse next year, is back atop the Saints lineup. Horstmann was a doubles state champion last season and is someone that could have a great shot at the singles title this year (now that Cam Luhring is graduated). Caden Branum from Decorah who was also in the doubles field last season and ended with a 3rd place finish to his name. Branum will be the biggest contributor for the Vikings this year as they try to be a mainstay in the top 10 rankings. A really fun surprise was the emergence of Roan Martineau from Dubuque Wahlert. Martineau played mostly in the middle of the lineup a year ago and should be a major contributor once again for the Golden Eagles, expect Martineau to have another strong season and do some damage in the state tournament. Caleb Briggs will now move up to the top spot for a relatively inexperienced Pella squad that has been in the team title match the last two seasons. With only 2 returning starters from last years team, Briggs and co. have a lot of work to do to keep their status towards the top of 1A. Seth Blackford (Marion), Ethan Moon (North Polk), Grant Love (Estherville Lincoln), and Colin Reis (Denison-Schleswig) all are the top players for their respective teams that are looking to build off of successful 2021 campaigns.
Team State Prediction
SF: Xavier def. Spencer
SF: Wahlert def. Pella
F: Xavier def. Wahlert
Singles State Champion Prediction
Brady Horstmann, Xavier
Doubles State Champions Prediction
Freiburger/R. Martineau, Wahlert
2A Girls
Team State Title Contenders
Dowling Catholic: The defending state champions Maroons come into 2022 as the heavy favorite to win the team title once again. Their 2021 team title (I believe?) is the first girls team title in the programs history. Led by top returner and past singles/doubles state champion, Allison Szalay, Dowling will be incredibly tough to beat this season. The seniors of Szalay, Mackenzie Klein, Isa Valverde and Ella Spanovic plus other key members form the deepest team we will see this year. To also note, Aaron Chalstrom former St. Edmond star, takes over for Drew Dunlay this year as the head Coach.
Valley: West Des Moines Valley finished off a great 2021 campaign with a 4th place finish as a team. The Tigers may be the next best team to challenge Dowling this year due to some roster makeup of a few other teams. Nonetheless, the Tigers #1 player from last season, Claire Gu is back and ready to help lead this squad to the team state title match. Along with the 2021 singles runner-up in Gu, Valley returns 5 of their 6 starters from last year in what sets them up for a very successful 2022 campaign.
Other teams to watch: CR Washington, Ankeny Centennial
Players to Watch
Allison Szalay, Dowling Catholic
Claire Gu, Valley
Kathryn Zylstra, Cedar Rapids Washington
Katelynn Kock, Cedar Rapids, Washington
Abby Struble, Clinton
Abbie Petersen, Ankeny Centennial
Andrea Porubcin, Bettendorf
Ava Petersen, Dowling
As many players graduate and move on to the next chapter of their lives, a new wave of Iowa HS players emerge. 2022 is led by defending state singles champion Allison Szalay of Dowling who may elect to try and defend her title this year. Along with Szalay is the singles runner-up Claire Gu from Valley who is also going to be a force once again this year. Could there be a singles state final rematch between these two? I would say it is very possible. Last years doubles field has two of the top four place finishers back in Kathryn Zylstra and Katelynn Kock of CR Wash as well as Mackenzie Klein and Ava Petersen of Dowling. These two met in the semi-finals last year and could face each other yet again in the title match this time in 2022. Abbie Petersen will be entering her second season of high school tennis as one of the best players in the state hoping to challenge some of the top dogs. Abby Struble and Andrea Porubcin are among a few other state tournament participants last season who could be vying for strong finishes this year.
Team State Prediction
SF: Dowling def. Ankeny Centennial
SF: Valley def. CR Washington
F: Dowling def. Valley
Singles State Champion Prediction
Allison Szalay, Dowling
Doubles State Champions Prediction
Zylstra/Kock, Cedar Rapids Washington
1A Girls
Team State Title Contenders
Cedar Rapids Xavier: Matching the Xavier Boys, the Xavier girls are also back-to-back team state champions AND have a solid chance to claim a three-peat. Narrowing missing out on the triple crown of team, singles and doubles state titles, the Saints are back again with a strong lineup that is going to be very tough to beat. Miyako Coffey is gone to graduation and is playing her college tennis at Hope College, which leaves Winona State commit Ally Burger, and Coe College commit Courtney Carstensen to hold down the fort at the top two spots. These two will probably be the toughest combo in the state no matter which spots they fall in. The rest of the lineup boasts the likes of Avery Link and Ella Tallet who provide very good depth and can do a lot of damage of their own. CRX is the favorite to go all the way again.
Waterloo Columbus: The BEST program in Iowa HS Tennis state history resides in Waterloo. Columbus Catholic has 20 team state titles to their name, and last had a string of consecutive championships from 2013-2018. In fact, the last team to win state no named Xavier or Columbus was Camanche in 2012. Defending state singles champion Sasha Hyacinth from the sounds of it is enrolled at Waterloo West now and will not be playing for the Sailors. Besides the departure of Hyacinth, the Sailors seem to return most if not all the rest of last years lineup starting with Chloe Butler and Avery Hogan. Columbus will be the other main team to challenge CRX again and should be in the title match later this season. Head Coach Dave Will, one of the best in state history, will have this team poised and eager in May.
Other teams to watch: Spirit Lake
Players to Watch
Ally Burger, Cedar Rapids Xavier
Courtney Carstensen, Cedar Rapids, Xavier
Alexa Weber, Union
Tess Paton, Fairfield
Le Yuan Sun, Shenandoah
Catherine Straus, Spirit Lake
Chloe Butler, Columbus Catholic
Emily Blom, Pella
The Xavier duo of Carstensen/Burger are the reigning state doubles champs and now will lead the Saints in the quest for a three-peat team title. Unclear on if they will go singles or doubles again this season but either one is capable of winning singles this year. There is a plethora of remaining players with state tournament experience including last years singles field of Tess Paton, Le Yuan Sun, Emily Blom, and Catherine Straus. Chloe Butler and Alexa Weber are back and were in last years doubles draw. This year brings a tremendous opportunity for a lot of players to cement themselves in state history. I don't think there are any clear cut favorites to dominate besides maybe Burger and Carstensen. Sit back and enjoy the chaos.
Team State Prediction
SF: Xavier def.
SF: Columbus def. Spirit Lake
F: Xavier def. Columbus
Singles State Champion Prediction
Ally Burger, Xavier
Doubles State Champions Prediction
Butler/Hogan, Columbus
That wraps up my 2022 edition of the season preview. Best of luck to all players, coaches and teams competing this year! If you ever have any questions or just want to chat, feel free to contact me through twitter or via email.
-Iowa HS Tennis
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