Tigers set for state tennis

It will be a busy week for the Red Oak girls tennis team as the opportunity for a possible state team title is within grasp.

Red Oak advanced to the final four when they defeated Ballard in Norwalk last Tuesday 5-0.

The Tigers picked up all of their wins in singles. Kate Walker scored a 6-1, 6-1 win versus Brenna Ripp.

Grace Blomstedt defeated Emily Jurgensen 7-6, 6-0, while Paige Vannausdle defeated Alex Petersen 6-2, 6-1.  Erica Sherman defeated Rylee Cahill 6-1, 6-3. Micayla Taylor clinched the win for Red Oak with a 6-4, 6-3 victory versus Meredith Ossian. Sarah Behrens won her first set 6-3 against Olivia Astarita.

The three other teams in the field this season will be Waterloo Columbus, Camanche and Cedar Rapids Xavier. Red Oak, Columbus and Camanche have all made appearances in the final four over the last few seasons. Xavier bucked the trend for Dubuque Wahlert, defeating them 5-2. Wahlert lost in the semifinals last season to Red Oak.

This will be the ninth straight team state semifinals appearance for Red Oak. The last time they didn’t appear in the state semifinals was 2005. 

The Tigers haven’t won a state title during their near-decade stretch.

Last year, the Tigers took the runner-up honors, finishing behind Waterloo Columbus. Red Oak found itself in a battle with Waterloo Columbus as four of the seven matches last year went to a third set super tiebreaker. Red Oak won one of those super tiebreakers but lost 5-2 to Columbus. The Sailors have won 15 state team titles.

The state team tournament kicks off Saturday morning in Iowa City at the University of Iowa Tennis and Recreation Complex.

Singles and Doubles

Red Oak’s qualifiers for the individual tournaments will be Kate Walker and Paige Vannausdle (Region 2 Singles Champion and runner-up) and Erica Sherman and Grace Blomstedt (Region 2 Doubles Champions).

Walker will be making her third appearance in the state tournament as a singles qualifier. The junior finished fifth last season when she defeated Mary Eide of St. Edmond. Walker didn’t place in the top eight her freshman year.

Blomstedt is the only other tennis player for Red Oak who has competed in state doubles. 

Last season, Blomstedt, along with Zoey Baker, took fourth when they lost to Caroline and Elizabeth Ott of Dubuque Wahlert. It was the first medal for a Red Oak’s doubles pairing in girls tennis since 2011 when the Pierson sisters, Emily and Rachel, won the 1A state title.

The singles qualifiers are as follows:

—Region 1 qualifiers were Emily Ahlers and Britney Thompson, both of LeMars. 

—Region 3 features Emma Rose of Boone and Emily Jurgensen of Ballard. 

—Allison Jasper and Kylie DeWees of Cedar Rapids Xavier are the singles representatives for Region 4. 

—Region 5 features Ali Arns and Hannah Fox, both of Waverly-Shell Rock. 

—Courtney Schneider of Dubuque Wahlert and Lily Peterson of St. Edmond are the Region 6 representatives (NOTE: Karo Kreutzer was the runner-up, but won’t be able to play). 

—Region 7 features Haley Resnick of Davenport Assumption and Stephanie Willis of Burlington Notre Dame. The Region 8 singles qualifiers are Claire Van Weelden of Pella Christian and Jamie Stewart of Oskaloosa.

The doubles qualifiers are as follows:

—Region 1 features Olivia Rohlk and Natalie Delaney, as well as Ryan Petievich and Hannah Schoning, both of Spirit Lake-Okoboji.

—Audrey Fyock and Jenna Taylor of Creston and Meredith Ossian and Olivia Astarita of Ballard are the Region 3 qualifiers.

—Waterloo Columbus’ Lindsay and Lauren McManus, as well as Gabby Greco and Maggie Weber, are the Region 4 qualifiers.

—In Region 5, Waverly-Shell Rock’s Ashley Maley and Kayla Reusche, as well as Chelsea Poesch and Emma Friedly are the qualifiers.

—The Ott’s and Audrey Hinz and Katie Hendricks of Wahlert are the Region 6 qualifiers. In Region 7, it was Camanche’s Lindsey Grams and Kylie Vogel, as well as Grinnell’s Lily Hamilton and Jackie John.

The singles and doubles tournament kicks off Thursday at 9 a.m. and continues Friday morning.