Ankeny junior Garrett Weichers was hoping to stay alive until Thursday in the boys’ state tennis tournament at Iowa City.
Unfortunately, Weichers’ run in the Class 2A singles bracket came to an end on Wednesday, when he was eliminated from the tournament after losing his first two matches.
“I was really disappointed with the way I played,” said Weichers, who finished the season with a 10-7 record. “Obviously, it’s great competition there, but I didn’t play near my capabilities at all.”
Weichers opened the tournament with a 6-1, 6-0 loss to fourth-seeded Garrett Bauermeister of Linn-Mar (Marion). Bauermeister later advanced to the semifinals with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Ben Smalley of Cedar Falls.
“Bauermeister was very good!” said Ankeny coach Ron Miller. “He gave Garrett several points, but never much of a chance to win games.”
Weichers then dropped a 7-6 (5), 6-3 decision to Ryan Gripp of Davenport Central in a first-round consolation match. The lengthy match may have taken a toll on Gripp, who then lost to Ethan Wang of Ames, 6-4, 6-1, in a consolation quarterfinal.
“The first set was 90 minutes, and the second set was 75 minutes,” Miller said. “Some rallies had to be 50 strokes or more. Eventually, Garrett ran out of patience. But it was a great effort to get to state, and hopefully he’ll learn something from the experience.”
The top four seeds cruised into the semifinals without dropping a single set. Bauermeister will meet top-seeded Dylan Schulte of Cedar Rapids Prairie on Thursday, while No. 2 Maarten Beekhuis of Waukee Northwest will face No. 3 William Feagler of Iowa City High.
“Bauermeister was a tough draw, but I definitely think I should have won my second match,” Weichers said. “It wasn’t the way I wanted to end the year, but it doesn’t take away from the rest of the season. My team and I were able to accomplish a lot.”