South Tama County senior Adriana Cervantes serves during her No. 1 singles match in the WaMaC conference meet on May 3 in Tama.

South Tama was the host school for the 2022 WaMaC Conference Girls Tennis Meet on Tuesday, May 3rd. Held at the newly renovated South Tama County Tennis Complex, the event endured a three-hour rain delay before competition was able to be held. Teams from South Tama, Maquoketa, Marion, Mount Vernon, and Independence faced off in singles and doubles action. After nine hours of play, the Independence Mustangs were crowned team champions for the second consecutive year. Marion finished second followed by Mount Vernon, Maquoketa, and South Tama. Champions were crowned in each flight.

The Trojans were led by fourth place finishes by freshmen Brooke Hitchcock and Hannah Houghton. Hitchcock defeated McCutcheon of Maquoketa 8-5 before falling 2-8 to eventual # 5 Singles Champion Bleile of Marion. In the third-place match, Hitchcock narrowly lost by a 6-8 score to Bailey of Independence. Houghton defeated Wiebel of Mount Vernon 8-6 in the opening round of #6 Singles Action. In the semi-final, Houghton fell to Miller of Maquoketa 5-8. In the third-place match, Houghton was defeated by Janssen of Marion 2-8. “I’m proud of the effort given by our entire team,” shared South Tama Coach Steve Bearden. “Obviously, Hitchcock and Houghton show great promise for the future and their finishes here show that,” he continued.

Adriana Cervantes represented South Tama at #1 Singles. She was defeated by eventual runner-up Wiebenga of Maquoketa 1-8. Grace Novotny faced the field at #2 Singles. She was defeated by Hafner of Maquoketa 1-8. Alondra Bolanos-Lupian was defeated by Yoder from Maquoketa 5-8 at #3 Singles. Kara Nachazel battled eventual runner-up M. Goad at #4 Singles before falling 3-8.

In doubles play, Cervantes/Novotny represented STC at #1 Doubles. They were defeated by Wiebenga/Hafner of Maquoketa 4-8 in a very competitive match. Nachazel/Bolanos-Lupian fell 4-8 to Maquoketa’s McCutcheon/Yoder at #2 Doubles. Hitchcock/Houghton faced Wiebel/Kamerling from Mount Vernon at #3 Doubles. The talented freshmen fell by a 1-8 score.

“It was an honor to host this event. We were excited to show off the newly renovated complex!” stated Bearden. “The weather was a challenge, but with the help of the administration, maintenance staff, and South Tama Boys Tennis Coach Ander Rutledge we completed a very successful event!” he continued.