Panther girls fall in semifinals

SHENANDOAH — Hawkeye Ten champion Clarinda defeated Creston 5-0 Tuesday in a girls tennis regional dual at Shenandoah.

Clarinda, seeking a fourth straight state tournament berth as a team, met Sergeant Bluff-Luton in the regional finals and fell 5-1. It was Clarinda’s only loss in a 12-1 season. SB-L (20-1) also defeated Shenandoah 5-1 in the semifinal round and takes on Carroll Kuemper Catholic (11-1) in the state tournament first round.

Conditions were challenging Tuesday at Shenandoah’s Sportsmans Park, with temperatures in the mid-50s, a 15 mph westerly wind and a slight mist during much of the opening round singles play.

While the team outcome for Creston wasn’t much different than a 9-0 regular season loss to Clarinda, there were some competitive matches. Panther junior Hollynn Rieck got out to an early lead in her No. 3 singles match and played a first-set tiebreaker against Ellie Cole at No. 3 singles. Cole won the tiebreaker 7-5 and finished the win with a 6-1 triumph in the second set.

Sasha Wurster and No. 2 singles and Shaylee Coen at No. 5 singles each won three games in their straight set losses. Marlee Stalker was still playing at No. 6 singles when the meet was stopped after Clarinda gained its clinching fifth win. None of the scheduled three doubles matches were played.

At No. 1 singles, Hawkeye Ten singles champion Riley Nothwehr of Clarinda defeated Creston’s Ava Adamson, 6-2, 6-0.

“We had some chances, we just have to be way more consistent against a team like this,” Creston coach Kevin Cooper said. “You’re talking about a team that is 12-0, and they only lose two girls next year. Every girl today lost to a good player, and only two of our kids (seniors Ava Adamson and Sasha Wurster) have even played in a regional tournament like this. This experience will help our girls coming back next year.”

This was the highest advancement for a Creston girls team since the regional finalist team of 2021 that had three state qualifiers — Hawkeye 10 singles champion Maddie Frey in singles and the doubles team of Morgan Driskell and Sam Dunphy.

Creston ends the dual season at 5-5. Cooper praised the contributions of Adamson and Wurster, who played in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions during their final season.

“I’m so thankful that Ava and Sasha were committed to us,” Cooper said. “Both of those girls love softball and they could have just said they were going to focus on softball, but they didn’t. They have been great for us. They’ve won a ton of points for us in both singles and doubles.”

This is the final year of spring tennis for girls in Iowa. Next school year, the girls play a fall season beginning in August, while the boys remain in a spring format. Cooper said that will open up practice opportunities, since both teams won’t be sharing the available courts at the same time.

“The split next year for girls and boys will help us, because we’ll have four courts just for our girls,” Cooper said. “That means less time sitting around waiting for a court to open up. They’ll get more playing time, which should help us develop the consistency that we need.”

1A girls regional

Clarinda 5, Creston 0

Singles — Riley Nothwehr (Clarinda) def. Ava Adamson (Creston), 6-2, 6-0. Taylon Walter (Clarinda) def. Sasha Wurster (Creston), 6-1, 6-2. Ellie Cole (Clarinda) def. Hollynn Rieck (Creston), 7-6 (7-5), 6-1. Hannah Higgins (Clarinda) def. Kennedy Strider (Creston), 6-0, 6-0. Chandy Nothwehr (Clarinda) def. Shaylee Coen (Creston), 6-1, 6-2. (Not finished: Alivia Higgins (Clarinda) leading Marlee Stalker (Creston), 6-1, 4-1.

Doubles — (Outcome was clinched before doubles matches were played.)