Cardinals crowned conference champs

PELLA — For the first time in school history, the Newton boys tennis team are conference champions.

The Cardinals finished fifth in the regular season but went 9-3 in matches on Wednesday during the Little Hawkeye Conference tournament at Pella High School.

Ethan Valtman improved to 13-2 on the season with a 3-0 day at Flight 1 singles and Kaden Marshall and Ethan Freese finished second at Flight 2 doubles.

The Cardinals scored 42 points at the top of the standings. They edged Norwalk (38) by four and Pella (36) by six. The rest of the seven-team field included Indianola (26), Dallas Center-Grimes (24), Pella Christian (22) and Oskaloosa (10).

“It’s pretty awesome,” Newton head boys tennis coach Jared Gerber said. “I’m most proud of how our guys handled adversity today. We have talked about it all year — controlling what we can control, staying positive and being confident. Each athlete had chances to get down or be frustrated or give up, but they didn’t.”

Valtman brought home the conference championship at No. 1 singles with three straight-set victories.

He opened with a 6-2, 6-1 win and then advanced to the finals with a 6-3, 7-5 victory. Valtman avenged a loss from earlier this season to Pella’s Nile Rozenboom when he downed the Dutch standout 6-4, 7-6 (9-7) in the championship match.

“Ethan played through some long matches and pretty intense heat,” Gerber said. “We haven’t had it this hot yet. He had four match points before he won it on the fifth match point. He was really mentally strong today.”

Evan Marshall finished third at Flight 2 singles. He won 6-4, 6-3 in his opening match and cruised in his third-place match 6-2, 6-4. His lone loss was a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) defeat in the semifinals.

Kaden Marshall and Freese placed second at Flight 2 doubles after winning their first two matches in a third-set tiebreaker.

They opened with a 1-6, 7-5, 10-7 win and then advanced to the championship match with a 7-5, 1-6, 10-8 victory. The duo fell 6-2, 6-4 in the finals.

Ezra Bartell and Damien Smith teamed up to place third at Flight 2 doubles. They opened with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) win and then lost their semifinal match 2-6, 6-2, 10-7.

In the third-place bout, Bartell and Smith scored a 6-1, 7-5 victory over a team from DCG.

“The guys played smart and played for their teammates,” Gerber said. “I wouldn’t have given us much of a chance to win, but when we stay positive and work through the challenges, awesome things can happen. I’m really proud of our guys.”