Two Panthers reach district quarterfinals

RED OAK — Southwest Valley junior Evan Timmerman defeated No. 1-seeded Andrew Lawrence of Shenandoah for the Class 1A District Tennis singles championship Monday at Red Oak High School.

Timmerman, seeded second, prevailed in three sets against Lawrence in the finals, 6-0, 3-6, 6-4. Both advance to the state tournament May 23-24 in Iowa City.

It was an all-Glenwood doubles final, as the team of Tyler Harger and Kayden Anderson beat the Rams’ No. 2 doubles duo of B. Batten and B. Taylor in the title match, 6-1, 6-0.

Both of Creston’s singles entries won their opening match before falling to the two finalists. No. 1 singles player Conner Wiley beat Clarke’s Casey Wade 6-0, 6-1 in the first round. He was eliminated by top-seeded Lawrence of Shenandoah in the second round, 6-0, 6-1.

Gavin Millslagle of Creston dominated his opening match against Clarinda’s Brady Cox, 6-1, 6-0. Timmerman was consistent with hard ground strokes in knocking off Millslagle in the second round, 6-0, 6-0.

“Conner and Gavin have been at the top of our lineup all year long and they got a good draw in the first round. They both played well in those matches,” Creston coach Kevin Cooper said. “They drew the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the quarterfinals and those guys are very good players. If you make a mistake, they are going to make you pay for it. There’s a reason why they battled each other for the championship.”

Both of Creston’s doubles teams were eliminated in the first round. Lucas Rushing and Carson Cooper lost to the district runner-up team of Ben Batten and Brody Taylor from Glenwood, 6-0, 6-1. Ben Hill and Damion Meyer lost to Clarke’s Aydan Dinham and Nathaniel Rowe, 6-1, 6-3.

“Carson and Lucas drew the No. 2 seed from Glenwood, and Glenwood is one of the better boys teams around this year,” Cooper said. “Our other doubles team won four games in the two sets, but we just weren’t consistent enough today to win that match.”

Creston boys play Friday at state-ranked North Polk in team tennis district action. In girls tennis, individual regional play is Wednesday at Pella and girls team tennis regional is Saturday in Council Bluffs, opening against Red Oak.

BOYS

1A District

Singles championship — Evan Timmerman (Southwest Valley) def. Andrew Lawrence (Shenandoah), 6-0, 3-6, 6-4.

Doubles championship — Tyler Harger-Kayden Anderson (Glenwood) def. Ben Batten-Brody Taylor (Glenwood), 6-1, 6-1.

Creston singles — Conner Wiley (Cr) def. Casey Wade (Clarke), 6-0, 6-1; Andrew Lawrence (Shenandoah) def. Wiley (Cr), 6-0, 6-1. Gavin Millslagle (Cr) def. Brady Cox (Clarinda), 6-1, 6-0; Evan Timmerman (SW Valley) def. Millslagle (Cr), 6-0, 6-0.

Creston doubles — Ben Batten-Brody Taylor (Glenwood) def. Lucas Rushing-Carson Cooper (Cr), 6-0, 6-1. Aydan Dinham-Nathaniel Rowe (Clarke) def. Ben Hill-Damion Meyer (Cr), 6-1, 6-3.

SW Valley singles — Saw Thar (DM Hoover) def. Owen Paul (SWV), 1-6, 6-4, 7-5. Evan Timmerman (SWV) def. Will Getter (Glenwood), 6-2, 6-3; Timmerman def. Gavin Millslagle (Cr), 6-0, 6-0; Timmerman (SWV) def. Max DeVries (Red Oak), 6-1, 6-1; Timmerman (SWV) def. Andrew Lawrence (Shenandoah), 6-0, 2-6, 6-4, in championship match.

SW Valley doubles — Parker Boswell-Matthew Means (SWV) def. Troy Skinner-Htoo Moo (DM Hoover), 6-1, 6-3; Aydan Dinham-Nathaniel Rowe (Clarke) def. Boswell-Means (SWV), 6-0, 6-2. Slate Goodvin-Kinnaird-Logan Westlake (SWV) def. J.D. Sitzman-Bryce Johnson (Clarke), 6-0, 1-6, 7-5; Dylan Gray-Zeth Zwickel (Shenandoah) def. Goodvin-Kinnaird-Westlake (SWV), 6-2, 6-2.