PELLA — Moving through the doubles bracket of the Class 1A Region 8 girls’ tennis tournament, Newton High’s senior Kate Wyre and junior Megan Pressgrove put themselves in a position to qualify for the 2016 Class 1A state tennis tournament.
The Cardinal duo won two matches to advance into Thursday’s semifinals. They netted a 6-0, 6-4 win over Pella Christian’s junior Andrea Carballo and senior Abbie Vander Molen.
Wyre and Pressgrove faced another Pella Christian pair in the 1A regional championship match. The Eagles’ senior Rachel Tvedlt and freshman Brooke Jorgensen captured the regional doubles title with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Wyre and Pressgrove.
Wyre and Pressgrove became the seventh and eighth players from Newton to qualify for at state high school tennis. They went 3-1 in the regional tournament hosted by Pella.
“I’m so incredibly proud of Megan and Kate. They’ve worked hard all season, and this is such a great accomplishment,” Newton head coach Erick Zehr said. “It was a sad ending to the season for my seniors, so it’s great that I get an extra couple weeks to work with these two.”
Senior Elizabeth Myers and sophomore Natalie Camp lost 6-1, 6-1 to Jorgenson and Tvedlt in the first round of the doubles competition.
In the singles division, senior Sierra Griffith opened the day with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Albia’s Allyson Haselhuhn. Griffith defaulted to Grinnell’s Allie Stallman to end her Newton tennis career.
Junior Katherine Thorpe got past Pella Christian senior Bethany Van Kooten, 6-4, 6-3, in the opening round. Thorpe dropped a 6-0, 6-0 decision to Pella sophomore Bronwyn Metcalf.
Pressgrove and Wyre netted a 6-1, 6-2 win over Pella’s sophomore Patience Dykstra and senior Elyse Sadler in the first round. In the quarterfinals, they won a three-set match against Grinnell’s senior Holly Deserano and Franziska, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
Wyre and Pressgrove will in the 2016 Class 1A state tournament June 2-3 at Waterloo.
Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
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