Pioneer Tennis Announcements
Coach Lawrence Eyre
Meet the tennis coaches
This year we have two very reputable coaches teaching the Maharishi School Pioneer tennis teams. On the Pioneer girls’ team, we have Coach Lawrence Eyre, who is both a school teacher and tennis pro and has received the Gold Star Award (making him one of only 100 people to receive such an honor). The award is part of the USTA’s 100th anniversary and goes to those individuals who have grown the game of tennis in their communities.
Lawrence has contributed to the tennis community in many influential ways. Whether it’s through officiating, coaching juniors or college-level players, volunteering at adult tournaments, providing tennis in schools, and even starting the first Community Tennis Association in Fairfield years ago.
Coach Steve Briggs
For the Pioneer boys’ team, we are very lucky to have Steve Briggs who has coached the boys from the 2013 season on. During his six years of coaching the Pioneer boys’ team won the triple crown and had a total of five 2nd place finishes at the state level competition. Steve was a former head coach at the Vic Braden Tennis College in Germany and a Head Tennis Pro at several country clubs including Denver, Colorado, and Moline Illinois. He has also trained two Top 50 ATP tour players as well as numerous sectional ranked junior players. Before he came to coach at Maharishi School Steve was a 3-year varsity member of the team at the University of Arizona.
Match reports
Both of our coaches have been asked to write a report about the match from their point of view. We will be hearing from them after home games and this blog will be updated accordingly. You can also find more photos and scores from our Pioneer Tennis team at the Maharishi School instagram and facebook pages.
Steve Briggs’ Summary
3/30/21
The Pioneers opened the season with a gut churning victory over Mt Pleasant at the Punj Center yesterday.But first a story from 2018, the last time the Pioneers took the court as a team.
April, 2018, Burlington
Fifteen minutes into Devan Burke’s rookie match as a Pioneer, the former Swedish boarding student complained, “Coach, I have no idea what I’m doing out here.” Devan came from behind to win that maiden match before going on to become one of the winningest players in Pioneer history (2 time district champ, state runner-up in doubles).
The Pioneers are two weeks into the 2021 season and I’ve already told Devan’s story twice. Why? Because every guy on our team is in the same
boat Devan was in at Burlington’s Dankwardt Park three years ago.
March 30, 2021, Punj Center, Fairfield
Playing in typically blustery March conditions, the Pioneers took the court for the first time since Devan played in the state championship match in 2018. Our opponent, Mt Pleasant, is a school that has produced a number of quality players over the years.
Every team develops a unique personality characterized by leaders and supporting players, but the identity of our fledgling squad is a work in 
progress. Just 24 hours before the Mt. Pleasant match, two of our players requested that they play lower on the lineup than their ability suggested, and a third boy wasn’t sure he belonged in the lineup at all. I told the boys, “this isn’t a democracy but I’m okay with adjusting the lineup.” Rather than assume the team lacked confidence, I decided that humility would become part of our team’s core identity.
progress. Just 24 hours before the Mt. Pleasant match, two of our players requested that they play lower on the lineup than their ability suggested, and a third boy wasn’t sure he belonged in the lineup at all. I told the boys, “this isn’t a democracy but I’m okay with adjusting the lineup.” Rather than assume the team lacked confidence, I decided that humility would become part of our team’s core identity.Sports has arguably generated more cliched phrases than any other walk of American life. Coaches rely on the same trite phrases year after year. One of my favorites is: “Nobody remembers how you start, they only remember how you finish.”
That axiom proved to be the reason James Nyugen earned “Player of the Match” honors along with his doubles partner, Budhil Thijm. James started poorly in his match and could have thrown in the towel (see how easy the cliches flow) but when he was reminded that the team needed his point, he launched a come from behind victory that proved pivotal to the outcome of the match.
Playing one court over, Pioneer #2 Budhil Thijm got off to the best start of the day, dominating his mammoth opponent, Jack Schimmelpfenig (shining penny) 6-0, 7-5. Big Jack stands 6’4” and weighs nearly as much as James and Budhil combined. Jack, a 2 way mainstay on the Mt Pleasant football team, has great touch for a big guy, but Budhil played with impressive focus as he moved Jack around the court.
At #1 singles, Romil Patel overcame a poor 2nd set to win in 3 sets, and Dominic Dupoux played with a lot of poise for a first timer in his win at #5.
After singles play, the Pioneers held a commanding 4-2 lead and it appeared that we would cruise to victory the way Pioneer teams have for the 
past 30 years. But the Panthers weren’t ready to head home. Surviving 2 match points, the Mt P #2 doubles evened the team score at 4-4.
past 30 years. But the Panthers weren’t ready to head home. Surviving 2 match points, the Mt P #2 doubles evened the team score at 4-4.It was up to our #1 team, James and Budhil, to clinch the decisive point. After falling behind 5-2 in the deciding tiebreak, the Pioneers won the final 8 points of the match as daylight faded and spectators’ shivered.
If our inexperienced squad continues to improve the way Devan Burke did, the Pioneers return to the courts after a 3 year absence will be fun to watch.
The Pioneers are in action against a veteran Keokuk squad on April 8th at the Punj Center.
Match Results:
Singles
#1 Romil Patel defeated David Nyugen 6-2, 1-6, (10-1)
#2 Budhil Thijm defeated Jack Schimmelpfenig 6-0, 7-5
#3 James Nyugen defeated Owen van Sickel 2-6, 6-4 (10-6)
#4 Jayanta Wegman lost to Levi Graber 6-2, 6-4
#5 Dominic Dupoux defeated Link Henrickson 7-5, 6-2
#6 William Nyugen lost to Brian Hyunh 6-4, 5-7 (10-7)
Doubles
#1 Budhil/James defeated Nyugen/Schicmmepfenig 9-8 (10-5)
#2 Romil/Jayanta lost to van Sickel/Graber 9-7
#3 Dominic/William lost to Henrickson/Hyunh 8-1
Lawrence Eyres’ Summary
4/5/21
Maharishi School girls’ tennis team played their first match in two years and won 9-0 versus West Burlington/Burlington Notre Dame at the Punj outdoor courts today.Team captain Lily Fenton (11) won her #1 singles match 8-1 and teamed with Ishita Mukadam (9) to win a come-from-behind #1 doubles thriller 8-6.
“Our players adjusted well to windy conditions and found ways to balance their opening day excitement with the need to keep the ball in play.” -Coach Eyre
Other winners for the Pioneers include Vaisnavii Mohanraj (11) 8-3 at #2 singles and 8-5 at #2 doubles with Daira Queveda-Valls (9); Sara Queveda-Valls (10)
8-1 at #3 singles and 8-2 at #3 doubles with Evelyn Ding (10).
Pioneers’ next match will be Monday, April 12, when they host Centerville at 4:15 pm.
Ishita Mukadam won 8-0 at #4 singles
Daira Queveda-Valls won 8-4 at #5 singles
Evelyn Ding won 8-3 at #6 singles
Steve Briggs’ Summary
4/23/21
On an idyllic April afternoon, Fairfield’s cross-town rivals delivered some quality tennis beneath a brilliant azure sky.
Maharishi School defeated FHS to improve their record to 3-1 for the season.
“FHS played us close, but our boys have been putting in the work and it showed today,” observed Pioneer coach, Steve Briggs. “Doubles has been a work in progress for us. We had 3 new doubles teams out there and the boys had to figure things out on the fly.”
Romil Patel led the Pioneer assault at the top of the lineup, overwhelming FHS 3 year varsity mainstay, Blake Holden. “Romil is finding his game… playing with confidence and that has a domino effect throughout the lineup,” noted Briggs.
James Nguyen played his best match of the season, defeating former teammate, Jeremy Goodale, at #2 singles. “James has such quick hands that sometimes he relies on it too much, but today he was solid everywhere… James served well, played consistently from the backcourt, and won most of the exchanges at the net. We’re really pleased with Jame’s progress. He kept his focus and played with a lot of purpose today,” said Briggs.
Having won all 4 of his matches in straight sets, Budhil Thijm is the Pioneer’s lone undefeated singles player for the season. Once again, Budhil’s intelligent play kept his opponent off balance. “Budhil’s the hardest worker on the team by a fair distance,”noted Briggs. “If he’s not happy with a particular shot, he stays after practice and works on it… every day… weekends too.”
“Our top 3 players push each other in practice because they’re so evenly matched. It’s been great for the team and now that we have Polo Altinski-Ross back in the lineup, I think we’ll see him pushing Romil, James, and Budhil.”
The #4 position proved to be the pivotal match. Polo Altinski-Ross was playing just his second varsity match and his gritty opponent, Garrett Flanagan, kept raising his play as the match reached a critical stage. Leading 6-4, 5-2, Polo discovered that crossing the finish line isn’t always easy, especially when facing an opponent as determined as Flanagan.
“Polo had a baptism by fire today and he survived the ritual,” said Briggs. After dropping the second set in a tiebreaker, the momentum shifted to Flanagan’s side of the court, but Altinski-Ross was up to the test, winning the final set super breaker, 10-8. The win gave the Pioneers a commanding 4-2 lead heading into doubles.
“With 3 newly formed doubles teams, we weren’t sure how it would play out, but the teams communicated well. Chemistry is a big part of doubles as is familiarity with your partner. There were a few miscues out there today, but nothing that concerns me,” observed Briggs. “If our doubles continue to improve we’ll be in good shape by May.”
The Pioneers won #1 and #2 doubles in convincing fashion to seal the 6-3 victory for the team.
Singles
#1 Romil Patel def Blake Holden 6-1, 6-2
#2 James Nguyen def Jeremy Goodale 6-2, 6-1
#3 Budhil Thijm def Brecken Courtright 6-2, 6-1
#4 Polo Altinski-Ross def Garrett Flanagan 6-4, 6-7, (10-8)
#5 Jayanta Wegman lost to Jace Hannes 6-4, 4-6, (10-5)
#6 Dominic DuPoux lost to Tristan Paton 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
#1 Patel/Thijm def Holden/Goodale 6-2, 7-6
#2 Nguyen/Altinski-Ross def Courtright/Paton 6-1, 6-3
#3 DuPoux/Wegman lost to Flanagan/Hannes 6-3, 6-4
The following match report is for an away game, Maharishi School Pioneers versus Keokuk.
Lawrence Eyres’ Summary
4/12/21
Pioneer Girls Top Centerville 6-3
Season record 2-0. Next event: Fort Madison Invitational Saturday, April 17.
“An athletic, senior-laden Centerville squad challenged our young team today. I’m proud our girls raised their level of play and came away with a 6-3 win.” Coach Lawrence Eyre
Team captain Lily Fenton (11) prevailed in a barnburner at #1 singles 8-7 (8-6);
Lily teamed with Ishita Mukadam (9) for an 8-6 win at #1 doubles.
Ishita Mukadam, Sara Valls (10) and Evelyn Ding (10) also posted singles wins for the Pioneers. In doubles #3 team Sara Valls and Bella Castle (10) trailed 1-4 but roared back to win 8-4 and clinch the team victory for the Pioneers. “I love how our #3 doubles girls battled back–they never gave up.”
Steve Briggs’ Summary
4/25/2021
Waiting for the road construction crew to waive us through on our way to Keokuk delayed but didn’t reverse the outcome of the Pioneers previous match with the Chiefs.
“Having lost a close match (5-4) to Keokuk at home, we knew it wasn’t going to be any easier at their place,” observed Steve Briggs. “They were better 1-4. That was pretty obvious.”
Keokuk has possibly the most idiosyncratic courts on the planet. Often referred to as the ‘Lego Courts,’ the plastic? purple and green surface looks a bit like a two-tone waffle or quirky breakfast cereal from Boulder, Colorado. The surface is both slippery and unpredictable.
Five minutes into Budhil Thijm’s match against Ivan Lopez, a lanky Spaniard whose family moved to Keokuk for an educational sabbatical, Ivan lost his footing and bloodied his knee.
Crafting clever points, Budhil had built a 4-1 lead when Lopez’ backhand sailed a foot beyond the baseline. Lopez’ mom cheered loudly, causing Ivan to question whether his shot was in. After Budhil confirmed that the shot was out, Ivan cast a bemused smile at his mom, who was grinning ear to ear.
“I looked over at Mamma Lopez,” said Briggs. “She was clapping because it was a great point but Ivan thought she was clapping because he’d won the point. Realizing that his mom was cheering even though he’d lost the point, Ivan cast a bemused grin in my direction, turned his palms up, and started to laugh. It turned out to be the highlight of the match.”
The moment of mirth proved pivotal for Lopez who went on to capture the first set tiebreaker before dominating the second set.
The meet ended minutes before sunset. The disappointment of the Pioneers 6-3 defeat faded faster than the remaining daylight. After raiding a nearby Hy-Vee the Pioneers headed home. Hunger and thirst held at bay, the boys noticed my cottage cheese and wanted to know how long I’d been a vegetarian. “50 years,” I replied. “Why?” my co-pilot asked. I answered with a question. “Did you know that the strongest animals on the planet eat a plant based diet. It’s true… silverback gorillas, elephants, and horses are all grazers.”
After various dietary perspectives were discussed, the conversation turned to global politics. It was possibly the first time the topic has been discussed with calm and clarity since the dawn of man. Had I recorded the conversation most of America would have benefitted.
I’ve never nominated an opposing team’s player or his parent for Pioneer Player of the Match, but Ivan Lopez deserves recognition as does Mama Lopez for their priceless reaction to a lost point.
#1 Romil lost to Haner 6-3, 6-2
#2 James lost to Takes 6-3, 6-1
#3 Budhil lost to Lopez 7-6, 6-1
#4 Polo lost to Stoneking 6-3, 6-3
#5 Jayanta defeated Thompson 6-2, 6-4
#6 Dominic defeated Worster 6-2, 6-1
#1 Romil/Budhil lost to 2 & 4 6-4, 6-4
#2 James/Polo lost to 1 & 3 6-4, 6-2
#3 Jayanta/Dominic defeated 5 & 6 6-7, 6-1 (9)
Steve Briggs’ Summary
4/28/2021
The Pioneers got back to their winning ways with yet another down-to-the wire 5-4 win over US-34 rival Mt Pleasant.If you like thrillers, you’re guaranteed to find one at the Punj Center. The Pioneers boys team followed the script perfectly, keeping everyone in suspense until the final ball was struck.
“Like our earlier match with Mt Pleasant, four matches went to a deciding tiebreaker,” said Coach Briggs. “Last time we won 3 out of 4 tiebreaks. This time they went the other way. Even though we didn’t win the close ones, our boys played better today than two weeks ago. We couldn’t be happier with the result.”
“Every meet different guys step up to get big wins for us,” said Briggs. “Today, it was Jayanta and Dominic who earned the deciding point. Dominic and Jay have only played together a couple of times, but they’re learning quickly.”
In the singles play, once again Budhil Thijm got the Pioneers on the scoreboard early. “Budhil matched up well with his opponent last time so we were happy to see that matchup again today. “Romil Patel and Dominic DuPoux earned the Pioneer’s other singles points, sending the match to doubles with the score tied at 3-3.
James Nguyen appeared exhausted after singles, but he and partner Polo Altinski-Ross bounced back from their singles losses to win convincingly at #2 doubles. The Pioneers nearly swept the doubles when #1 team Romil Patel and Budhil Thijm reached match point before losing.Briggs added: “When I asked James after the match if his tank was empty, he replied, ‘It’s all mind over matter.’ I liked hearing that because we emphasize perseverance.”
The Pioneer Player of the Match is Dominic DuPoux, the lone Pioneer to secure 2 points in the match.
“We had a chance to clinch the match in singles, but Mt Pleasant outplayed us in the third set tiebreakers at #3 and #4,” observed Briggs. “James and Polo battled, but the steady play of their opponents down the stretch made the difference.”
“Dominic demands a lot from himself, but I reminded the boys the other day that even the great Roger Federer has only won 54% of the points he’s played as a professional. You’re not going to win every point. It’s more a matter of winning the key points,” noted Briggs.
The Pioneers are back in action Saturday when they host the Pioneer Invitational at the Punj Center. If you
need a little drama in your life, the Pioneers will be happy to provide it but you’ll need to bring your own popcorn and maybe something to settle the Pioneer coach’s stomach.
Singles
#1 Romil def David Nguyen 3-6, 6-3, (10-5)
#2 Budhil def Jack Schimmelpfenig 6-0, 6-0
#3 James lost to Owen van Sickel 5-7, 6-3 (10-8)
#4 Polo lost to Levi Braber 6-3, 1-6 (10-8)
#5 Jayanta lost to Lincoln Henrickson 6-1, 6-0
#6 Dominic def Jake Ensminger 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
#1 Romil/Budhil lost to Schimmelpfenig/van Sickel 9-8 (7-0)
#2 James/Polo def Nguyen/Hunh 8-4
#3 Jayanta/Dominic def Henricksen/Ensminger 8-5
Lawrence Eyres’ Summary
4/26/2021
Snowed out last Monday
Scorcher today welcome to
Iowa tennis
Maharishi School girls’ tennis upped their dual meet record to 3-0 with an
8-1 win at home over Keokuk today. The Pioneers swept singles play and won 2 of 3 doubles matches.
Ishita Mukadam blanked her opponent 8-0 at #2 singles and teamed with Lily Fenton to claim an 8-2 victory at #1 doubles.
“Ninth-grader Mika Rodriguez played three consecutive JV singles matches and won them all.” Coach Lawrence Eyre “She wins our Marathon Award today.”
The Pioneers will compete at Saturday’s Grayhound Invitational at Dankwardt Park in Burlington.
Steve Briggs’ Summary
5/1/2021
Pioneer Boy’s Tennis Invitational
Gusting winds whipped balls about the court, but despite the testy conditions the Pioneers never took their eye off the ball as they pulled away from the field to win the Pioneer Invitational over Albia, Davis County, and Fairfield HS. The Pioneers racked up a commanding 103 points. FHS finished 2nd with 85 points. Davis County and Albia each earned 56 points on the day.
“Conditions were tricky at best,” said Pioneer coach, Steve Briggs, “30+ mph winds are difficult, but 
everyone faces the same challenge on days like today. We try to lock into every shot, but it’s not so easy.”
everyone faces the same challenge on days like today. We try to lock into every shot, but it’s not so easy.”As expected, the best matches of the day pitted the Maharishi Pioneers against Fairfield HS in doubles. In the #1 flight, James and Polo defeated the Trojan duo of Jeremy Goodale and Blake Holden 6-3, giving the Pioneers 1st place with an aggregate of 29 games while FHS scored 26. “Our guys raised their level when it counted and that takes confidence. A week ago the self belief wasn’t where it is now,” said Briggs.
In the 2nd flight of doubles, the Pioneer duo of Jayanta and Dominic also saved their best tennis for Fairfield, narrowly winning 5-4. Fairfield’s team came up with some outstanding reaction volleys and winning serves after the Pioneers had built a 5-2 lead. “Our guys need to be consistently aggressive. In doubles, if you don’t finish the other team will,” observed Briggs. “Closing out matches is a learning process. We’re getting there.”
In singles play, seniors Romil Patel and Budhil Thijm have led the Pioneers all season and they continued that trend today. Romil lapped the field by winning 31 out of a possible 36 games while Budhil lost just 4 games on the day. “We know what to expect from our seniors,” noted Briggs. “They play solid tennis day in and day out.”The Pioneer Players of the Match are Romil and Budhil in singles and James and Polo in doubles.
The Pioneers are in action against Davis County on Tuesday at the Punj Center.
Individual Results
#1 singles — Romil Patel 1st place
#2 singles — Budhil Thijm 1st place
#1 doubles — James Nguyen/Polo Altinski-Ross 1st place
#2 doubles — Jayanta Wegman/Dominic DuPoux 3rd place
Team Results — Total Games Won
Maharishi — 103
Fairfield — 85
Davis County — 56
Albia — 56
Lawrence Eyres’ Summary
5/1/2021
All six singles players recorded wins as the Pioneers finished 4th in Burlington’s Grayhound Invitational Saturday. Lily Fenton brought home silver as runner-up in the #1 singles flight.
Fairfield High School won the team trophy with 18 points. Camanche was 2nd with 14, followed by Davis County with 10, the Pioneers with 9 and host Burlington with 7. Burlington Notre Dame finished sixth.
Maharishi School’ will host the Pioneer Invitational Saturday, May 8 at the Punj Tennis Center.
Lawrence Eyres’ Summary
5/8/2021
Maharishi School girls’ tennis finished 2nd in the round-robin Pioneer Invitational today at the Punj TennisCenter. Lily Felton (17 games won) and Ishita Mukadam (19 games won) earned silver medals in their #1 singles and #2 singles flights; the Valls sisters Sara and Daira won 11 games at #1 doubles; Bella Castle, Yeobseca Tafesse and Mika Rodriguez won 11 games competing at #2 doubles.
Team standings:
1st Davis County 74 games won2nd Maharishi School 58 games won
3rd Centerville 49 games won
4th Albia 35 games won
“Our young team has been improving with each event this season. We look forward to competing in Burlington Monday [May 10] versus Notre Dame.” Coach Lawrence Eyre
Steve Brigg’s Summary
5/12/21
Ideal conditions prevailed for the district tennis meet yielding plenty of quality tennis at the FF Middle School courts Wednesday as 7 area teams plus a newcomer battled one another to advance to the state tournament. The newbie happened to be the defending state 1-A champs, Cedar Rapids Xavier, who dominated the event, amassing 30 points. Keokuk finished 2nd and Centerville 3rd with 13 and 9 points respectively. The Pioneers finished tied for 5th place with 7 points.
The Pioneer’s disappointing result had less to do with the bounce of a tennis ball than it did a can full of ping pong balls.
Eight head coaches huddled together in the FF Middle School weight room with a box of pink frosted donuts and an egg carton full of white ping pong balls with a black number on each ball. Aside from the top 4 singles and doubles seeds, the fate of the other 36 players entered in the tournament depended on their coaches’ ability to extract a lucky ball from a rusty can. An archaic method to be sure, but a fair one…
“I’ve been drawing balls from that can for 7 or 8 years now and my method is totally random,” laughed Coach Briggs. “Some years we’ve been lucky… other years we’ve nearly lost the meet before taking the court because of a silly white ball. Today was by far my worst effort. My selections literally cost us any chance of advancing in the postseason.”
Some coaches are superstitious. Davis County’s coach blew into his hand each time his turn came up, proclaiming ‘this is how I do it at the casino.’ The DC coach’s method proved far from perfect as his team finished last and scored a meager 2 points on the day.
The Pioneer’s first drawing paired Budhil Thijm against the tournament’s #1 seed, Abbot Haner, who went on to win the event.
“The odds of drawing the top seed are about 16%,” said Briggs, “but I managed to pick the worst possible ball for Budhil. As Budhil and Haner warmed up, I walked around the courts and noted that Budhil could have probably beaten 11 or 12 of the 16 players. Fortunately, our other singles player, Romil Patel, received the #2 seed and so his fate was in his own hands as seeded players don’t participate in the ping pong process.”
Romil easily dispatched Fort Madison’s Kadim Medland 6-0, 6-1 before facing a stiffer challenge from Keokuk #2, Callum Tackes. “I think being seeded #2 was a bit of a shock for Romil. To be a high seed puts a target on your back and you definitely feel the pressure.”
Romil dropped the first set and quickly fell behind 3-1 in the second before finding his game. Patel advanced to the semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win thanks to some dominant net play and timely serves down the stretch.
In his semi-final match, Romil faced Xavier’s top singles entrant, Trent Link. Again, Romil started slowly, losing the opening set 6-1 before playing Link evenly for the first 8 games of the second set. “Xavier’s guy hit with a lot of power which caused Romil problems at the start, but in the 2nd set Romil had his chances. Romil’s been solid all spring. He’s come from behind plenty of times. He’s been our leader all year.”
Romil is the Pioneer Player of the Match for the 2021 district tournament.
Although the ping-pong ball selections didn’t do the Pioneers any favors in doubles, both Pioneer teams played inspired tennis against higher-ranked opponents. The Pioneers #3 team of Jayanta Wegman and Dominic DuPoux’s match against Mount Pleasant’s #1 duo was the last match to finish in round one. “Jay and Dom had a good couple days of practice before the tournament and so I felt they were going to give someone problems. They lost a close one to a Mt Pleasant team that beat our #1 doubles team a few weeks back.”
Regardless of who James Nguyen and Polo Altinski-Ross play, they always bring a lot of energy to the court. The Pioneer duo topped Mt Pleasant 6-2, 6-2 before facing the #3 seeds, a veteran Xavier team in the 2nd round.
“Xavier has a ton of experience from winning state in 2019 in addition to facing perennial powers like Iowa City West and CR Washington in their conference,” said Briggs. “Our guys played well against Xavier and they now believe they can eventually get to that level.”
And so the Pioneers ended their 2021 journey with a 5-2 dual meet record in addition to 1st place finishes in the Ottumwa and Pioneer Invitationals. Their 5th place district finish ended a run of six consecutive district titles for the Pioneers.
“The season’s been a good one… really a great group of guys who represent our school with class,” said Briggs. “We’ll practice until the school year ends and have a team celebration next week. We’ll create some wonky (weird) games and go for pizza. Some of the guys have already earned their pizza. I’m even thinking of drawing ping pong balls for free pizza. I don’t go to casinos so I’m not very good at this stuff. Hopefully, by next May, I’ll figure out how to pull the right ball from the can.”
Lawrence Eyres’ Summary
5/17/2021
Pioneer girls finished their dual match season with a 5-1 record today, bowing out of
postseason team play with a 5-3 loss to Oskaloosa.Pioneers earned a 3-3 split in singles after a 2 1/2 hour battle highlighted by wins from #1 Lily Fenton (6-0, 7-5); #2 Ishita Mukadam (5-7, 6-4 [10-5] ); and #4 Sara Valls (6-2, 6-4).
Oskaloosa clinched the team win in doubles, with victories at #2 and #3
(6-2, 6-1 for both matches). Pioneers’ #1 Lily Fenton and Ishita Mukadam led 6-4, 3-2 when play was suspended.
“Our girls all improved during competition today. Our first-year player Ishita Mukadam staged a remarkable comeback at #2 singles. Trailing 5-7, 1-4, she won 5 straight games to take the 2nd set and scored a convincing win in the match tiebreak to send us into the doubles tied with senior-laden Oskaloosa. I’m proud of our whole young team.” Lawrence EyreThe Pioneers will play singles and doubles in the regional individual tournament
Wednesday (5/19) at Fairfield Middle School.
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