For Linn-Mar boys’ tennis, district doubles finals have been ‘so fun,’ but ‘brutal’

MARION — For three straight years Malcolm Rice has played against teammates in a boys’ tennis district final.

“It gets no easier,” he said with a smile after combining with Garrett Bauermeister to defeat Linn-Mar teammates Jake Wallrichs and Jackson Kramer in the doubles final at the Linn-Mar district on Wednesday afternoon. “It's so fun, but it is also a brutal experience. You don't want to have to try and beat them.”

The top-seeded Lion duo outlasted their teammates, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. In the singles final, Cedar Rapids Washington’s Luke Burkamper rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 win over Dubuque Hempstead's Luke Holden.

Ironically, the first set of the doubles final saw all four Lion players taking any opportunity they could to watch teammate Quentin Spolaore's marathon singles semifinal match against Hoden on an adjacent court. Hoden prevailed, winning 6-4 in the third.

“We did take our time to watch the especially big points,” Rice said. “That was a true battle and that was just one incredible match.”

Linn-Mar Coach Chris Wundram said there is one big advantage for him when he has both of his teams in the final.

“I don't have to coach,” he said. “I just let them go out and play and it was a very competitive match. That is the way it is in practice all the time. They are both very capable doubles teams and they showed it in this match.”

With Hoden and Spolaore locked in a long match, Burkamper was left to patiently wait for a winner in the singles final. Once Hoden got his allotted rest time, the Washington junior wasted little time in posting a straight-set win.

“Luke did have to spend a lot of time sitting around today,” Warriors Coach Tom Neff said. “Luke has really stepped up this year. We had his brother (Nicholas) playing No. 1 for us last year and Luke has moved right into that role.

“His mental strength on the tennis court is state-worthy. He will be very, very competitive at state.”

Class 2A boys’ tennis district roundup

At Iowa City West, Cedar Rapids Jefferson freshman Parker Holland took top honors, defeating West’s Anthony Medina, 6-1, 6-2. The Trojan doubles team of Samir Singh and Patrick Selby won the district title, downing Bettendorf’s Robert Matera and Noah Gehler, 6-2, 6-4 in the title match.

Cedar Rapids Prairie junior Anthony Schulte is going back to state after downing Johnston's Campbell Love in the final at Marshalltown, 6-1, 6-0.

At Norwalk, Iowa City High junior Abhay Anhil earned a return trip to state in singles with three 6-0, 6-0 wins, the last one over Dylan Victor of Ankeny in the final.

Class 1A boys’ tennis district roundup

At Fairfield, Cedar Rapids Xavier advanced both doubles teams and freshman Bennett Link in singles. Charlie Legrand and Jacon Schmit defeated teammates Quincey Johnson and Tyler Jasper in the doubles final, 6-1, 7-5 while Link fell in the singles final to Fairfield junior Ruimin Luo, 6-4, 6-3.

At Decorah, defending 1A state champ Caden Branum will get a chance to defend his title, taking the district title by downing Waverly Shell-Rock’s Matthew Judka in the final. The Vikings also qualified a doubles team as Aidan Naelean-Carlson and Liam Chamberlain lost in the final to Benny Ramker and Luca Myers of Waverly-Shell Rock, 6-2, 6-1.

All district winners and runners-up advance to the state tournament. Those meets will be on May 21-22 and will be played at the Hawkeye Recreation and Tennis Center in Iowa City (2A) and Waterloo's Byrnes Park (1A).