The Hampton-Dumont-CAL and Iowa Falls-Alden girls and boys tennis teams will battle for individual titles at separate North Central Conference Tennis Championship tournaments on Wednesday.
Lauren Wood at #1 singles and Josie Johnson at #2 singles for the Cadet girls lead the conference at their respective positions in wins with seven apiece.
IFA Girls Head Tennis Coach Matt Mulford says staying positive is a focal point for conference and marquee meets ahead.
“We go against some tough opponents, so just to keep trying to stay positive and keep fighting through and see what happens'” says Mulford. “You can’t let it get you down because if you focus on the last point that you didn’t get, the struggle is going to keep building and you’re going to keep going that direction. If you can get over that hurdle, just keep staying positive and keep learning.”
The Cadets placed 3rd and the Bulldogs were 6th at last year’s tournament.
The NCC girls tournament will be at the Dodger Tennis Courts in Fort Dodge.
The Cadet boys are led by Brayden Moestchen at #2 and Theo Beisel at #4 singles each with three match wins apiece. Coleman Condon at #2 singles and Andyn White at #3 singles lead the Bulldogs with two match wins apiece.
HD-CAL Boys Head Tennis Coach Mike White says the Bulldogs look to improve on net play as they continue to build up toward districts.
“Improving on what we’ve been doing, that’s what the conference tournament is for, it’s to tune us up for district,” says White. “One of the things that I’ve noticed the most is that we need to be more aggressive in our net play. We tend to back up instead of going to the net and I’d like to change that around a little bit.”
The Cadets placed 3rd and the Bulldogs were 5th at last year’s tournament.
The NCC boys tournament will be at Clear Lake Tennis Courts.
First serve is at 10 a.m.
