Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Any tennis coach will say playing three matches in two days is no small task.

Defending Class 2A champion West High made that challenge look a lot less daunting on Tuesday.

Playing its third match in a little more than 24 hours West High easily dispatched Clinton 5-0 in a Class 2A quarterfinal matchup at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Center in Iowa City.

The win sends West High to the 2A semifinals for the third consecutive season which will be held June 1 in Des Moines.

“The experience from past years definitely helps with being prepared physically and mentally for this time of year,” West High coach Amie Villarini said. “I’ve stressed it a lot with the team that it’s going to come down to physical stamina at the end of the year because it’s really tough at the end.”

Regional play was originally set for Saturday but weather forced the move to Monday.

West High swept Cedar Rapids Prairie and City High in Class 2A, Region 3 play on Monday and rolled past Clinton (9-2) with similar ease on Tuesday to return to the final four.

Despite losing last year’s number one singles player Emma Koch to a torn ACL West High hasn’t skipped a beat, entering the state semifinals 18-0 with 12 shutout victories.

“We are just thrilled to be back,” Villarini said. “Our team had to overcome a lot of adversity with losing our number one and we had a lot of time to let that absorb and sink in so I think people were really read to step up and play.”

West High was impressive up and down the lineup winning all five matches without dropping a set.

Jessica Moonjely won 6-0, 6-2 over Kaylee Camp at number one singles and Audrey Koch added a 6-3, 6-2 win over Abby Strubel at number two singles.

In her first season playing in the top singles spot Moonjely has lost just one match all season.

“We had some people come up the line,” Villarini said. “We had a freshman step in, we had several players improve a great deal over the year and so we are a different team without Emma but we are still a strong team.”
Where West High really flexed its muscle on Tuesday was at the bottom of the line.

Caroline Mascardo, Caroline Chandler and Vivian Mitchell all earned straight set victories while losing a combined three games.

“We have a lot of depth and we are one of the best doubles teams in the state, we are really strong in doubles,” Villarini said. “When it comes down to doubles I think that’s an area where we really dominate.”

West High joins unbeaten defending runner-up Ames, Cedar Falls and West Des Moines Dowling in the 2A semifinals.

West High 5, Clinton 0

Singles

1. Jessica Moonjely (ICW) def. Kaylee Camp 6-0, 6-2

2. Audrey Koch (ICW) def. Abby Strubel 6-2, 6-3

3. Caroline Mascardo (ICW) def. Mackenzie Lange 6-1, 6-0

4. Caroline Chandler (ICW) def. Kylie Housenga 6-0, 6-0

5. Vivian Mitchell (ICW) def. Lacy Pickney 6-0, 6-2

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