Rams’ Ibanez, Konfrst sweep singles titles at Hawk-10 meet

Glenwood’s Joel Ibanez and Adam Konfrst swept the boys singles titles and the Rams’ Brielle Smith and Sierra Stouder won the girls’ No. 2 singles bracket at a windy Hawkeye 10 Conference Tennis Tournament last Monday at the Koch Family Tennis Center in Omaha.

The Shenandoah girls – who won both the No. 1 and No. 2 singles and the No. 1 doubles brackets – repeated as conference champions after edging Glenwood 30-22 in the team scores.

The Glenwood boys also placed second in the team standings after Atlantic narrowly edged the Rams 25-22 in the scoring.

“I was proud of my team with their second place finish after placing a disappointing fifth a season ago,” said Glenwood coach Kevin Tucker. “Winning two out of the four conference brackets is pretty impressive. I was also impressed by Atlantic’s depth and my hat goes off to Coach (Mike) McDermott for entering what I thought was a smart team championship lineup.”

Ibanez, a foreign exchange student from Bolivia who entered as the No. 2 seed, was barely challenged in the quarterfinals and the semifinals, winning by shutout 8-0 in both matches. Waiting in the final was top seeded Tanner Finken of Kuemper Catholic.

In the final, Ibanez dropped the opening set 5-7 to Finken before he rallied for a 6-4 winner and then a tiebreaker to win the conference singles title.

“This was a fantastic win for Joel,” Tucker said. “All season long the media and coaches in the Hawkeye 10 ranked Finken over Ibanez as the best player in the conference. On Monday, Joel had his opportunity and in front of a hostile crowd Ibanez proved he was the best in the Hawkeye 10. My hat goes off to Joel, he was down early but always trusted his game. The match was very intense and both individuals played the game with class.”

Konfrst, in the No. 2 singles bracket, was dominant at times is a straight set, 6-3, 6-1 win over Shenandoah’s Trevor Finnegan in the finals.

For Konfrst it was his third straight conference title after winning in No. 2 doubles in 2016 and No. 2 singles a year ago.
“Glenwood has never had a three time Hawkeye 10 Conference champion and I am happy for Adam and his accomplishments,” Tucker said.

Glenwood girls coach Callie Ohm thought her team performed well considering the windy conditions and the stiff competition.

“The windy day wasn’t ideal but everyone had to deal with it,” Ohm said.  “Everyone had to adjust their play and figure out how to play with it and if you didn’t adjust to it, then well, the wind could have beaten you.”  

The Glenwood girls’ No. 2 doubles tandem of Smith and Stouder, entered as the top seed and showed it in wins over teams from Red Oak and Shenandoah to reach the finals. In the title match, the Ram duo defeated Denison’s Madison Struck and Hannah Auen, 6-3, 6-3.

“Brielle and Sierra continue to play well together,” Ohm said. “They work well together and are always positive while playing doubles.  I am very proud of them for finishing in first place.  They both have had a great season in regular duels.  Both of them are undefeated at the No. 5 and No. 6 spots.”

In the girls No. 1 doubles bracket, the Rams’ No. 2 seeded Brooklyn Taylor and Erin Stanley placed second after reaching the finals. In the championship match, the top seeded duo of Gilbert and Mikayla Adkins of Shenandoah proved too much in a 6-2, 6-3 win.

“Natalie Gilbert and MiKayla Adkins are a tough duo,” Ohm said of the Shenandoah champions. “They communicate well.  These two groups had just played in the regular season match up and both on windy days. I knew it would be a tough match up.  I would like to see them play on a non-windy day.”

In the girls No. 2 singles, Ruby Crow defeated Clarinda’s Kennedy Reed 8-2 in the opening round before falling to Kuemper Catholic’s Samantha Schwarte in the quarterfinals. Crow would go on to emerge from the loser bracket with a pair of wins and a fifth place finish.

The Rams’ Ellie Osterloh received a first round bye in No. 1 but was upset in her opening quarterfinal match by Shenandoah’s Nichole Gilbert, 8-2. Gilbert would go on to win the conference singles title with a win over Clarinda’s Maddie Hartley in the final.

“Ellie saw a very good Josie Shudak who wasn’t seeded and probably should have been her first round (opponent),” Ohm said.  “She didn’t get to play her this year but last year she (Osterloh) lost to her.  She was able to win her next round in the consolation but couldn’t get passed Sophie Walker from Red Oak.”

Osterloh bounced back to defeat Council Bluff St. Albert’s Caroline Faust in the loser bracket but her run would end in the fifth place match in an 8-2 loss to Walker.

In boys doubles, the Rams’ No. 1 duo of Kris Mintle and Josh Ruth dropped their opening round match but came back in the losers bracket to finish sixth. At No. 2 doubles, Carter Benson and Calvin little dropped their quarterfinal to Shenandoah’s P.J. Hielen and Tyler Courtier and went on to place sixth.

“While the doubles teams weren’t happy with their finish I know they were happy with the way they competed after dropping the first games and so was I,” Tucker said.

Hawkeye 10 Conference Tennis Tournament
Girls Team Scores
    1. Shenandoah, 30. 2. Glenwood, 22. 3. Red Oak, 19. 4. Council Bluffs St. Albert, 15. 5. Denison, 14. 6. Harlan, 13. 7. (tie) Kuemper Catholic and Council Bluffs Lewis Central, 10. 9. Clarinda, 8. 10. Creston, 3. 11. Atlantic, 0.

Boys Team Scores
    1. Atlantic, 25. 2. Glenwood, 22. 3. Kuemper Catholic, 20. 4. Shenandoah, 18. 5. Denison, 16. 6. Creston, 10. 7. (tie) Harlan, Clarinda and Council Bluffs St. Albert, 9. 10. (tie) Council Bluffs Lewis Central and Red Oak, 3.

Glenwood 9,
St. Albert 0

The Glenwood tennis team swept Council Bluffs St. Albert 9-0 in a Hawkeye 10 Conference dual last Tuesday in Council Bluffs.

Sierra Stouder shutout Reegan Wolford 8-0 in the No. 6 singles match and paired with Brielle Smith for an 8-0 win over Woolford and Meg Ross in the final doubles match.

Glenwood 9,
C.B. St. Albert 0
Singles
No. 1 – Ellie Osterloh, G, defeated Caroline Faust, S, 8-4.
No. 2 – Brooklyn Taylor, G, defeated Jenna Carlson, S, 8-6.
No. 3 – Erin Stanley, G, defeated Emma Barnes, S, 8-4.
No. 4 – Ruby Crow, G, defeated Alesha Johnson, S, 8-5.
No. 5 – Brielle Smith, G, defeated Meg Ross, S, 8-2.
No. 6 – Sierra Stouder, G, defeated Reegan Wolford, S, 8-0.

Doubles
No. 1 – Taylor/Stanley, G, defeated Faust/Carlson, S, 8-4.
No. 2 – Osterloh/Crow, G, defeated Barnes/Johnson, S, 8-3.
No. 3 – Smith/Stouder, G, defeated Ross/Wolford, S, 8-0.