Consolation Semifinals Wednesday
Feldmann/Bergstadt (SPE) defeated Meis/Pratt (LEM) 6 – 1, 6 – 2
5th Place Match Wednesday
Nurre/Schmit (CRX) defeated Feldmann/Bergstadt (SPE) 7 – 6, 6 – 3
The doubles team of Riley DeWitt & Owen Kierscht from Spencer were knocked out by their teammates Feldmann & Bergstadt in the consolation 2nd round on Tuesday.
Comments From Spencer Coach Joe Steele
The 2023 individual state tournament was an extremely memorable experience for two major reasons. First was the performance of Sam Feldmann and Parker Bergstadt. I thought both of these guys played really well throughout the tournament and Sam probably stood out among the best players in the state. He really rose to the occasion, which was great to see from a three-time state qualifier.
Sam and Parker’s only stumbles were against perennial state powers Pella, who ended up cruising to the state title, and Cedar Rapids, Xavier. I want to point out that this isn’t a single excellent performance, but instead is consistently high-level play over the course of five matches and two days. I can’t say enough about how well they played.
I predicted before the tournament that Spencer could have two teams place in the top 6 of the doubles tournament because I thought all four of our qualifiers were playing at such a high-level heading into the tournament. Owen Kierscht and Riley DeWitt came out of districts as the district champs and got the #3 overall seed, so they were really playing well. Unfortunately, they got a tough draw in the first round against a Decorah team that finished as the state runners-up. I have to give credit to Decorah; they really didn’t ever let Owen and Riley get into a rhythm. I thought they competed well, but just couldn’t hit the shots they needed to win some of those close games.
Which brings me to the 2nd major thing I’ll remember about this tournament. The only way we weren’t going to get two teams in the top 6 is if we had to play each other, which is exactly what happened due to a perfect storm of unfortunate events. So, after Owen and Riley soundly defeated Denison in the consolation bracket, and Sam and Parker lost to Pella, the two teams from Spencer had to square off in an elimination match. The winner would advance into the 2nd day and be guaranteed a top 8 finish, while the other would be eliminated from the tournament without placing. And that’s where we found ourselves at the end of the day on Monday.
It was the most excruciating thing I’ve had to do as a coach, and it still disappoints me every time I think about it. As I expected, because the two teams were so even, it came down to a 3rd set super tiebreaker which Sam and Parker ended up winning. I was simultaneously super happy for Sam and Parker and profoundly disappointed for Owen and Riley. It was a tough situation because I know Owen and Riley are worthy of a top 6 finish.
Meanwhile, now that the individual state tournament has concluded, we will turn our focus on the team state tournament in Iowa City next week. Playing the best teams in the state has made obvious to us a few things that we need to work on. So, despite playing a lot of tennis over the last two days, we’ll return to the practice courts tomorrow in an effort to boost our team’s finish. We’re looking forward to that challenge.
