Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

BETTENDORF – Sometimes in sports you just have to tip your cap to your opponent.

In tennis it is often a tap on the racket that acknowledges an especially stellar shot from an opponent.

The West High doubles tandem of Jessica Moonjely and Audrey Koch did both of those things during and after their Class 2A doubles title match on Thursday at the Bettendorf Tennis

West Des Moines Dowling’s Kaylyn Chleborad and Allison Szalay completed an impressive run through the 2A doubles field with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Koch and Moonjely in the championship match.

The win was the fourth consecutive straight set victory during the two-day tournament for Chleborad and Szalay and handed Koch and Moonjely their only defeat of the season.

“I have to give them credit where credit is due,” Moonjely said. “I think this match and throughout the season we played really good tennis but you have to give them credit.”

Just as they had been all season Koch and Moonjely were dominant in their first three state tournament matches.

The first-year West High doubles tandem simply ran into a buzzsaw in the Dowling duo.

Koch and Moonjely had an 18-match winning streak end with the loss in the championship.

“They are a solid team and they came to play,” West High coach Amie Villarini said of the Dowling duo. “They had a really great match, I think Jess and Audrey also played tough Dowling was just a lot more aggressive and they capitalized on everything.”

The state championship stopped West High short of a third consecutive doubles title.

Emma Koch and Abby Jans won the 2A crown in 2017 and Emma Koch teamed with sister Audrey Koch to win the 2A title last season.
This year it was Chleborad who finally got a state gold after finishing runner-up to the Koch sisters last season with partner Anna Wanek.
“Dowling has a great team,” Audrey Koch said. “They were very offensive and they were really nice players at the net and knew how to execute well.”

The runner-up finish for Koch and Moonjely capped an impressive season for the first-time doubles partners.

Koch and Moonjely reached the finals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Brooke Dannenfeldt and Mylea Cole of Urbandale, the sixth consecutive straight set postseason win for the West High tandem.

“I think when you get to tournament time there is something in you that kind of makes you step out and brings out your A game,” Villarini said. “They were playing a lot better at the end of the season then they were at the start of the year.”

In their first season as doubles partners Moonjely and Koch had lost just one set before Thursday’s title match.

“I definitely saw a lot of growth,” Moonjely said. “At the beginning of the season I had my things and Audrey had her things but we put them together as the season progressed. I think we really grew together.”

The runner-up finish from Moonjely and Koch capped a strong state meet showing for West High.

Three other first-time state qualifiers earned wins for the Trojans on Wednesday.

Vivian Mitchell and Caroline Mascardo went 1-2 in doubles play while sophomore Caroline Chandler went 1-2 in singles play.

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