Newton boys tennis places sixth at conference tourney

NORWALK — A pair of fourth-place finishes highlighted the Newton boys tennis team’s day at the Little Hawkeye Conference tournament on Wednesday.

The Cardinals scored 22 points in sixth place. They were better than Oskaloosa, which scored five points in seventh.

“It was a tough day for us,” Newton head boys tennis coach Jared Gerber said. “We had a few tough draws but didn’t play our best in a few matches as well.”

Pella ran away with the conference championship as the Class 1A No. 2 Dutch won all four titles and scored 52 points at the top.

Host Norwalk (32) edged Dallas Center-Grimes (30) and Indianola (30) for second and Pella Christian (26) narrowly overcame Newton in fifth.

Leading the Cardinals were Andrew Wiles in singles and Evan Marshall and Harrison Oswalt in doubles.

Wiles finished fourth in Flight 2 singles with a 1-2 day. He won his first match in three sets before falling to the top seed in the second round. He also lost the third-place match in straight sets.

Marshall and Oswalt finished fourth at Flight 1 doubles. They teamed up to go 1-2 and won their first match in three sets before losing the next two in straight sets.

Ethan Valtman was the only Cardinal to win multiple matches. He was 2-1 at Flight 1 singles despite losing his first match of the day.

Valtman lost his opener 6-3, 6-2 before winning 6-1, 6-2 in his next match. He finished fifth after scoring a 6-3, 6-1 victory in the fifth-place match.

Ezra Bartell and Damien Smith were 0-2 and finished sixth at Flight 2 doubles. Both of their matches went to a third-set tiebreaker.

“We’ll have a short memory about today and be ready for districts and team events next week,” Gerber said.

Notes: The Cardinals will take part in a 1A singles and doubles district tournament hosted by second-ranked Pella at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. The rest of the field features Albia, Centerville, Chariton, Grinnell, Knoxville and Pella Christian. ... The substate team tournament begins with the first and second rounds at 9 a.m. and noon on May 11 in Grinnell. Third-seeded Newton faces sixth-seeded Chariton in the first round and the winner faces either second-seeded Grinnell or seventh-seeded Knoxville in the second round. The 1A Substate 6 final is slated for 3:30 p.m. on May 15 at the highest remaining seed. The top seeded team in Substate 6 is Pella.