The Norwalk girls and boys tennis teams both earned second-place finishes to Pella on Wednesday in Little Hawkeye Conference tournaments held at separate sites.
Girls score 36 points
Led by a pair of runner-up brackets, the Norwalk girls scored 36 team points and edged Indianola for second place on tiebreaker criteria at the LHC Meet in Pella.
Finishing one spot above her tournament seed, Anya Kallenbach placed second in Flight 1 singles with a 2-1 record. She won her first match 6-0, 6-1 and reached the finals with a third-set tiebreaker win over second-seeded Gwen Farley of DC-G, 3-6, 6-3 (10-2). The Warrior Flight 1 doubles team of Grace Dehmer and Tessa Livingston also placed second on the day, winning a pair of third-set tiebreaker matches to advance to the championship. They dominated both tiebreakers by scores of 10-4 and 10-2.
Katie Larson placed third in Flight 2 singles, losing her semifinal match in a third-set tiebreaker before bouncing back for a 6-2, 6-1 victory. The Flight 2 doubles team of Sutton McNelly and Julia Palen took fifth, splitting a pair of three-setters.
Boys score 32 points
The Warrior boys matched their seed in all four brackets and tallied 32 points, placing second in the conference meet at Norwalk.
Third-place finishers for the Warriors were the Flight 1 doubles team of Adrian Bush and Braylon Stockwell, as well as Drew Lents at Flight 2 singles. Bush and Stockwell dropped only three total games in winning their first round and third-place matches in straight sets. They lost in the semifinals to a team from Pella Christian. Lents went to a third-set tiebreaker in his first two matches, winning one and losing the other. He finished the day with a 6-0, 6-0 win for third.
Placing fourth for the Norwalk boys were Tyler Stiegelmeier at Flight 1 singles and the Flight 2 doubles team of Wyatt Black and Wyatt Coburn. Stiegelmeier won his first match 7-5, 6-4, then lost his next two. Black and Coburn started the meet with a third-set tiebreaker win and also lost their next two.
Postseason starts next week
Both Norwalk squads will compete on their home courts when postseason play begins next week. The girls host a regional singles and doubles tournament on Monday and the boys host their district tournament on Wednesday.