Valt-ing into state

BOONE — Ethan Valtman played to his strengths and went at his opponent’s weakness during his semifinal match at the Class 1A singles and doubles district tournament on Wednesday.

It wasn’t that simple, but Valtman made it look easy at times during his first three matches at McHose Park. And his dominating victory over Audubon’s Isaac Jackson in the semifinals lifted him to the state tennis tournament.

“I just played to my strengths and it worked out really well for me,” Valtman said. “It feels amazing. I know my coaches have always wanted to send somebody to state and now that they can, I feel like I made them proud. But I’ve made myself, my parents and my brother and sister proud, too.”

Valtman is the first Newton Cardinal to advance to the state tennis tournament since Adam and Taylor Rens finished second in doubles in 2006.

After coming up one spot shy of state last season, Valtman (18-3) was dominant in his first three matches as the No. 2 seed.

The top two finishers in both singles and doubles advance to the state tournament.

Valtman lost in the championship match to North Polk’s Easton Moon, who is undefeated and ranked No. 1 in 1A.

“He put in a lot of time in the offseason,” Newton head boys tennis coach Jared Gerber said. “He basically lived at the courts, and that’s obvious. I think he had all those same shots last year, but his biggest difference is he knows when to hit them now.”

The Cardinals will host North Polk in the team substate tournament at Noon on Saturday. But only Valtman advanced to state as an individual or doubles team.

Ethan Freese and Kaden Marshall won their first two matches in straight sets but fell one win shy of state after losing in the semifinals.

Ezra Bartell and Damien Smith lost their only match of the day in doubles and Evan Marshall was 1-1 in singles.

Valtman, Bartell, Smith and Evan Marshall are part of a senior class that changed the trajectory of the program.

“We had maybe 12 kids on the team just a few years ago,” Gerber said. “They’ve been really good recruiters. They’ve gotten some of the best athletes in the school out for tennis and that’s made our depth so much better. Tennis has a little more of a name in athletics now than it did five or so years ago, and they’re a big reason for that.”

Valtman’s 3-1 day included a 6-0, 6-0 win over Boone’s Calvin Jordan in the opening round. He downed Nevada’s Noah Johnson 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals and advanced to state with a 6-0, 6-0 win over the third-seeded Jackson.

His parents were in attendance, but the first person he talked to who was not there was his older brother John, who spoke on the phone with Ethan minutes after his state-clinching victory.

“(John) was just so happy for me,” Ethan Valtman said. “He told me I worked my butt off for it, and that I did a great job.”

Valtman lost to the top-ranked Moon by injury default in the second set. He lost the first set 6-0 and was trailing 3-0 at the time of his wrist injury.

Moon (26-0) has yet to lose a set this season and has dropped only 22 games.

Gerber, who does not expect Valtman’s injury to be serious, said his No. 1 player did well attacking Jackson’s backhand in the semifinal match.

Valtman learned after falling short last season that he couldn’t take any point for granted.

“I tried to give it my all because any point can be a turning point in a match,” Valtman said. “I just played to his weaknesses. I kept it deep, played to his backhand and made him run a little bit, and it worked out.”

Evan Marshall won his opening match 6-0, 6-3 against Audubon’s Carson Matthews.

Boone’s Wes Van Pelt eliminated Evan Marshall 5-7, 6-0, 10-7 in the quarterfinals. Marshall led the third set tiebreaker 7-2 at one point.

Bartell and Smith fell 6-4, 6-1 to Nevada’s Connery Varsa and Adam Smeenk in their only match of the day.

Kaden Marshall and Freese were the No. 2 seed in doubles but went 2-2 and finished fourth.

They downed a team from Fort Dodge St. Edmond 6-0, 6-0 and defeated a duo from Audubon 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, Freese and Kaden Marshall lost 6-2, 6-3. They trailed the first set 3-0 and never recovered but lost a 3-0 lead in the second set.

They fell 6-2, 6-1 to North Polk’s Eli Dickinson and Drew Fausch in the third-place match.

“When things weren’t going their way today, they stayed aggressive and stayed positive,” Gerber said. “That’s a team who will be back next year. They really wanted it this year, but this should give them a lot of fuel.”

Notes: Valtman had an ice pack on his wrist after his match against Moon. Gerber said he had a hard time gripping his racket at the time of the injury default. “We’ll make sure he’s ready to go for state,” Gerber said. … Gerber said Valtman has gotten so much better figuring out on his own how to exploit his opponent’s weaknesses. “His opponent (in the semifinals) had a great first serve but not a good second serve so Ethan stepped into those second serves and took advantage of those,” Gerber said. “He kept them deep in the court and then followed them in. That allowed him to break his serve every time.”