Wolverine tennis advances in first-ever State berth

IOWA CITY - All Reegan Zinkula wanted to take any credit for is installing a  love of tennis into her team. 

Even as Dike-New Hartford girls tennis reached newfound heights qualifying for their fist State team tournament in school history last week, she bounced the credit back to the athletes. 

“These girls put so much time and energy into this sport both in season and out of season,” Zinkula said. “Over these five seasons here, all I wanted to do was give them the love for the game. Then they’ll want to come and compete. Their confidence in tennis has built up to a point maybe never seen before here.”

That confidence was key in toppling fifth-ranked Decorah 5-4 on Tuesday last week. The host Vikings won the top two singles, each with a tiebreaker set. The Wolverines bounced right back with wins by senior Claire McCumber at #3 Singles, sophomore Addy Joslin at #4 Singles and senior Indee Grassley at #5 Singles. Decorah would take the #6 Singles match to tie the meet at 3-3. 

McCumber and Joslin would win their #2 Doubles match and Decorah the #3 Doubles match. Whoever wanted to hoist up the State banner needed to win the #1 Doubles, which outlasted the other two Doubles. Juniors Aida Tott and Izzy Norton lost their first set, but struck back in the next two to secure Dike-New Hartford’s first-ever tennis team banner. 

“We really didn't have too many close meets over the regular season, but our two with Iowa Falls and Osage did prepare us for our Decorah match,” Zinkula said. “Every girl matters, from number one to six. They built each other up the whole time. To be able to pull this off is pretty amazing.”

But the fun didn’t stop there for the Wolverines. DNH turned around four days later and faced Central DeWitt in the first round of State at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Center, a middle ground for both programs. The Wolverines sent the Sabers packing with a 5-1 win to advance to the next round on May 29 at a familiar location: Byrnes Park in Waterloo, where DNH competed in their NICL Conference Tournament at the very end of April. 

“We went 4-2 in Singles and only needed a win from Aida and Izzy at Doubles and be the first to five,” Zinkula said. “This team is amazing. The fact we didn’t need to finish Doubles was the icing on the cake.” 

Next, the remaining four teams in Class 1A will be seeded. Pella, Spencer and Cedar Rapids Xavier make up the other programs heading to Waterloo on May 29. 

“It's kind of hard for me to kind of sit back and kind of soak it all in,” Zinkula said. “We still have individual tennis coming up and the school year wrapping up. But these girls leave me speechless with how dedicated they are. It’s amazing to watch them play.”