DES MOINES — Newton High’s boys won three of their four opening-round matches at Thursday’s Class 2A district tennis tournament. The Cardinals lost in the next round of the single-elimination postseason event hosted by Des Moines Roosevelt.
The district action brought to a close the 2017 season for the NHS boys.
Senior Nick VerSteeg and junior Grant Hamand won a doubles match against Des Moines North’s Jamal Inthabounh and Jonathan Praseutsack. Newton’s duo was up 6-2, 4-2 when the North pair retired because of an injury.
VerSteeg and Hamand faced the district No. 1 seeded West Des Moines Valley team of Brook Norwood and Roy Jensen. Norwood and Jensen beat the Cardinal pair, 6-0, 6-0.
Also in doubles action, senior Seamus Vandemore and sophomore Collin Hemann lost in the first round. They dropped a 6-4, 7-5 decision to Norwalk’s Tanner Downs and Drew Hall.
Senior Reid Miller and North’s Nick Osterman staged a 2.5-hour first-round singles match. Miller dropped the first set, 7-6, then rallied to win the next two sets, 7-6 and 6-4.
“Reid built a 5-2 lead in the second set before Nick stormed back to lead 6-5,” Newton coach John Bieber said. “Reid did an amazing job settling his nerves to win the tiebreak and pull ahead in the final set.”
Miller lost in the next round 6-1, 6-0 to No. 2 seeded Moise Habienza of Valley.
Newton sophomore Brady Eberline cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win over North’s Cedrick Cavan in the opening round of the singles play. He fell to top-seeded James Suspen of Roosevelt, 6-0, 6-0.
Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
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