Norwalk too much for Newton tennis teams

NORWALK — Norwalk won all 11 matches in straight sets during the Newton boys’ tennis team’s 11-0 road loss on Thursday.

The Cardinals did not have the services of No. 4 singles player Collin Buchli for the Little Hawkeye Conference dual. Buchli was at Newton’s home track and field meet.

“Ethan (Valtman) played another great singles match and the No. 5 doubles team battled back in the second set to have a really competitive match,” Newton boys head tennis coach Jared Gerber said.

The closest singles match came from Valtman. He lost his No. 2 singles contest 6-4, 6-2. Keary Sanger and Ethan Freese were defeated in their No. 5 doubles match 6-1, 7-5.

GIRLS

Norwalk 11, Newton 0

The LHC girls’ tennis matchup between Newton and Norwalk was shortened to one-set matches because of cold weather on Thursday.

Norwalk left Aurora Heights Park with an 11-0 victory. Newton’s No. 6 doubles team of Emersyn Gross and Kaitlyn Bloom had the closest loss at 8-6.

Ella Swarts and Avery Potter both lost 8-4 at No. 1 and No. 5 singles, respectively. Swarts and Olivia Hotchkin lost 8-4 at No. 1 doubles and Sloan Brodersen and Brooklyn Sterling also lost 8-4 at No. 5 doubles.

Cardinal girls place fifth at Knoxville Invitational

KNOXVILLE — Swarts and Hotchkin teamed up to lead the Cardinals at the Knoxville Girls Invitational on Friday.

Swarts and Hotchkin finished fourth to lead Newton and Madison Rinehart and Izzy Wilson bounced back from a first-round loss to finish fifth as the Cardinals scored six points and ended up fifth in the seven-team field.

Swarts and Hotchkin won their first match 8-1 and then advanced to the semifinals following an 8-2 victory. They dropped their semifinal match 8-3 and then were defeated 8-1 in the third-place contest.

Rinehart and Wilson opened with an 8-5 loss but rallied to finish fifth after wins of 8-0, 8-2, 6-3 and 10-6.

Roxanna Almazan and Paige Benson competed in singles and each finished 0-2. Almazan lost 8-1 and 8-3 and Benson was defeated 8-5 and 8-3.

Notes: No. 1 singles player Lauryn Garrett did not play in the girls’ dual against Norwalk or the tournament in Knoxville. ... The Cardinals are scheduled to play Pella on Tuesday. The boys’ matchup was slated to be played in Pella, but the Dutch’s courts are not ready for use. The Newton-Pella boys’ matchup has moved to Aurora Heights Park and will be played at 1 p.m. before the girls’ varsity contest. ... The Newton boys did not play at Atlantic on Saturday. The tournament was called off because of cold weather.