Newton boys tennis gets first win, shuts out Pella Christian

PELLA — Newton’s boys tennis team got into the win column with a dominating performance over Pella Christian on Tuesday during a Little Hawkeye Conference matchup.

The Cardinals and Eagles played six singles matches and three doubles matches and Newton won 9-0. All nine matches were straight-set wins for the visiting Cardinals.

“It’s good to get a win,” said Jared Gerber, who claimed his first win as Newton boys tennis coach. “There were lots of positives from today’s matches.”

At the top of the Cardinals’ lineup, No. 1 Blake Baumgartner and No. 2 Trent Hamand both won 6-1, 6-1.

Thomas Hodnett won 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3 singles, John Valtman scored a 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 4 singles, William Muckler won 6-3, 6-0 at No. 5 singles and Landon Heisdorffer was a 6-0, 6-1 winner at No. 6 singles.

Those six Cardinals (1-3 overall, 1-0 in conference play) also played in the three varsity doubles matches.

Hodnett and Valtman teamed up at No. 2 doubles and won 6-0, 6-0, while Baumgarnter and Hamand won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 doubles. Muckler and Heisdorffer were 6-2, 6-2 winners at No. 3 doubles.

“We played more consistently than we have in past matches and took advantage of chances to play more aggressively,” Gerber said. “This sets us up for success and placed more pressure on our opponents. There are lots of good things moving forward. Now we have a week of practices before playing eight matches in 14 days.”