NHS girls play regional tennis

HUXELY — Playing six singles matches is the format for the Iowa high school girls’ team tennis postseason competition. Newton High’s Cardinals participated in Saturday’s Class 1A Region 3 tournament action.

The Cardinals defeated Saydel 5-0 in the opening round then lost 5-0 to host Ballard. Ballard knocked off North Polk, 5-0, in the first round. Once one team reaches five match wins the meet ends.

“We played really well in both matchups, but Ballard was just the better team Saturday,” Newton head coach Erick Zehr said. “Several of our girls played some of their best tennis of the year, and just ran into better opponents.”

Newton senior Megan Pressgrove beat Saydell’s Katie Schmidt 6-1, 6-1 and senior Katherine Thorpe netted a 6-4, 6-1 win over Megan Schmidt. Bethany Baumgartner gave Newton a 6-1, 6-0 win over Riley Backas.

Juniors Natalie Camp and Harlie Durr claimed wins — 6-0, 6-1 and 6-0, 6-4 — over Saydel’s Valdez Margarita and Casey Campbell, respectively. Newton junior Rylie Bakalar was up 6-0, 5-2 over Alitizel Rodrigues when the match ended.

Thorpe was two games away from recording a victory for Newton against Ballard’s Mikayla Rietgraf when the Bombers reached their fifth win. Thorpe was up 7-5, 4-3 when the match ended.

Ballard’s Bry Ronca beat Pressgrove 6-2, 6-2 and Kate Rietz defeated Baumartner 7-5, 6-3. Anna Zielke downed Camp 6-1, 6-4, Karlie Holmes beat Durr 6-2, 6-2 and Lindsey Kaldenberg defeated Bakalar, 6-3, 6-0.

The Cardinals prepare for the Class 1A Region 8 individual tournament, which is at 9 a.m. Thursday hosted by Pella Christian. There will be singles and doubles matches played for berths at the 1A state tournament.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com