Newton boys tennis shows improvement in loss to Norwalk

Ethan Valtman survived his three-set singles match and Harrison Oswalt and Andrew Wiles escaped a highly-contested doubles contest with a win after Oswalt won his singles match in straight sets, but the Newton boys tennis team fell to Norwalk on Friday.

The Warriors grabbed an early advantage in singles and then put away the Cardinals in doubles during their Little Hawkeye Conference matchup at a very windy Aurora Heights Park.

Newton (2-3, 2-1 in the conference) was 2-4 in singles and 1-4 during doubles in the 8-3 loss.

“We had lots of close matches that could have swung the overall match score,” Newton head boys tennis coach Jared Gerber said. “Harry had an awesome day, winning in both singles and doubles. He was aggressive and handled the wind well.”

The first Cardinal win came at No. 3 singles where Oswalt scored a 7-5, 6-0 victory.

Valtman also won his first set 7-5 at No. 1 singles. But a 6-3 loss in the second set forced a third and final frame and the Cardinal junior dominated 10-3 for the three-set triumph.

“Ethan also had a great day, beating an opponent he lost to last year,” Gerber said. “Seth and Ezra and Damien all played well. Both of those matches were 10-8 in the third set.”

Oswalt and Wiles claimed the only doubles win, but it was not easy. The duo defeated their Norwalk counterparts 6-4, 5-7, 12-10 at No. 2 doubles.

Ezra Bartell and Damien Smith lost their No. 3 doubles match 6-4, 2-6, 8-10 and Seth Adams was defeated 6-3, 2-6, 8-10 at No. 6 singles. Wiles also lost a close match 7-6, 7-6 at No. 4 singles.

“This is another match we lost 11-0 last year,” Gerber said. “This year was much more competitive. That’s what you want to see as a coach. I think we’ll keep improving until the end of the season.”

Norwalk improved to 4-1 and 4-0 in the conference. Its lone loss came against Boone.

Cardinals finish fourth at Atlantic tournament

ATLANTIC — Newton finished a combined 7-5 at the Atlantic tournament on Saturday.

Smith and Bartell teamed up to claim the top finish as they finished second at No. 2 doubles.

That helped Newton score 22 points and finish fourth in the eight-team field. Shenandoah won the tournament with 28 points, while Glenwood scored 27 and host Atlantic tallied 23.

“Damien and Ezra played really well and showed how good of a doubles team they can be when they’re working together,” Gerber said. “Harry and Andrew continue to get better, too.

Valtman competed at No. 1 singles and finished third with a 2-1 day. His only loss came to Shenandoah’s Andrew Lawrence, who placed eighth at state last season.

“Ethan kept it close and had several chances to win the match, “Gerber said.

Valtman is now 6-2 in singles this spring. The six wins are tied for the third most in Class 1A, according to Bound.

Smith and Bartell took their doubles bracket to the championship match where they lost 10-6 in a third-set tiebreak.

Oswalt and Wiles finished third and went 2-1 at No. 1 doubles, while Marshall was 1-2 and took sixth at No. 2 singles. His first loss came against the tournament’s eventual champion.