West High Taking it One at a Time as It Attempts to Add to Title Count
Ryan Murken
Your Prep Sports
It is easy to start looking ahead to the rematch.
Top-ranked Waukee and second-ranked West High have been considered the state title favorites for most of the season and a possible 2A title match between the two got even more interesting after Waukee took down defending champion West High 7-2 in the regular season finale.
Don’t expect to catch West High looking ahead to a possible rematch with the Warriors on Tuesday not with long-time coach Mitch Gross around or a semifinal foe as dangerous as Pleasant Valley waiting in the semifinals.
“I’ve done this for a long time and I am honestly a one match at a time person,” Gross said. “I am right now all about Pleasant Valley.”
It’s not hard to see why some would peak ahead at a potential round two between Waukee and West High in the title match.
West High is making its 10th consecutive state semifinal appearance and has advanced to the finals each of the past nine seasons.
The Trojans have won six of the last eight 2A titles and are seeking their 10th overall title this season which would match Dubuque Wahlert for the most in state history.
During that nine-year stretch West High hasn’t lost more than two matches during a semifinal and hasn’t lost a single match in either of its previous two semifinal appearances.
This season could be significantly more difficult for West High (15-1) while will face Pleasant Valley (11-1) in a 2A semifinal on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Prairie Ridge Sports Complex in Ankeny.
Pleasant Valley showed at the state individual tournament last week it would be a formidable foe placing both doubles teams in the top four and getting a seventh-place finish from Jake Dolphin in singles.
“In my 20 years this will probably be the hardest first round state match that we have had,” Gross said. “I am 100 percent dialed in to Pleasant Valley.”
If West High can get past the Spartans in the semifinals it could set up a rematch with Waukee (13-0) in the finals.
The Warriors face fourth-ranked West Des Moines Valley (12-1) in the other semifinal.
Waukee owns regular season wins over each of the other three semifinalists.
The Warriors defeated West Des Moines Valley 7-4 and earned 7-2 wins over Pleasant Valley and West High.
West High was forced to default at number three singles in the regular season loss to the Warriors after an injury to Mukundan Kasturirangan that also caused the Trojans to reshuffle their doubles teams.
“If we learn from it, that will be great,” Gross said. “When you lose you want to learn from it and let it motivate you a little bit.”
A match to watch if the two teams meet in the final is a rematch of the doubles championship match between Kasturirangan and Luca Chackalala and Waukee freshmen Kaden Taylor and Quinn Monson.
Monson and Taylor won the championship match 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday.
“I just hope we get the chance on Tuesday (to play them again),” Chackalala said. “I’d like to get another chance against them.”
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