The Lady Dutch tennis team could not stop the juggernaut Waterloo Columbus tennis team in the Class 1A team finals Saturday in Des Moines, earning a 2nd place finish, the highest-ever for the program.

Pella fell to Columbus Catholic, who won their 6th consecutive championship. Earlier in the day, the Lady Dutch defeated Cedar Rapids Xavier in the semifinals.

Seniors Bronwyn Metcalf and Cecily Johnson both say while they were disappointed in not grabbing the top trophy, they are proud with how the team competed against some of the best tennis players in the state.

“We came in strong and we ended up winning 5-1 [against Xavier], which was awesome to pump us up for our next match against Columbus, and, however, that didn’t work out in our favor.” Metcalf says. “We played the best we’ve ever played.”

“The Columbus coach said that this was the best face-off they’ve had in years,” Johnson added. “Because there was three tiebreakers, which they don’t usually have because they’re such a good team.”

Five varsity seniors say farewell to the program.