Luo to state; Trojans to Round of 8

FAIRFIELD — The good times have certainly been brewing on the Fairfield tennis courts this year, and that trend kept up in spades last week.

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The Trojans found roaring success in both the individual and team district tournaments, advancing one player to the state meet in, and moving on in the Class 1A team tournament.

In district singles, junior Rumin Luo blew past the competition on Wednesday, going 4-0 to earn a district title and a state tournament berth.

The Maharishi student, which plays for Fairfield this spring, didn’t lose a single set in his run to a district championship.

Luo started a long day off with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep against Mikey Stieger of Assumption. He knocked off Southeast Conference rival Luke Thompson of Keokuk 6-1 and 62, before earning his spot att state with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Bradey Johnson of Xavier.

Luo faced off with fellow state qualifier Bennett Linx of Xavier in the singles championship. Luo won both sets, taking the district crown with wins of 6-4 and 6-3.

Luo was the only area singles player to make it he quarterfinals. Gavin Ross of Mt. Pleasant did have a thrilling 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Davis County’s Gavin Klaus in the opening round, but fell to Johnson in the second.

The area was shut out in doubles play. Fairfield’s Ethan Cass and Rylan Anderson went 1-1, as did Han Wang and Austin Loria, but both teams were knocked out in the next round.

Three days later, Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant found themselves facing off in the team tennis Round of 32.

Both teams cruised past the first round, as Mt. Pleasant smoked Albia 5-0 and Fairfield made quick work of Davis County, winning 5-0 as well.

In the rivalry matchup, Mt. Pleasant gave the Southeast Conference champion Trojans quite a battle, but Fairfield prevailed 5-3.

The Trojans picked up four wins in singles play. Luo defeated Phoenix Watson 6-0, 6-1 in the No. 1 match. Wang beat Ross 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2. Loria defeated Sawyer Fulton 6-2 and 6-0 at No. 3, and Anderson got past Lou Schimmelpfennig 6-3, 6-4 at no. 5.

Mt. Pleasant picked up two wins in singles. Dane Cook slipped past Ethan Cass 6-4, 7-6(5), and Zach Johnson got through Niko Emerson 7-6 (10), 6-3.

Mt. Pleasant got a doubles win, as Fulton and Cook defeated Anderson and Emerson 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 3 matchup. The Panthers even led the top matchup 7-5, 3-6, 4-1, but Fairfield’s Luo and Cass ended things with a 7-6(1), 6-2 win over Ross and Johnson to grab a fifth point and move on 5-3.

Fairfield will now move on to play at Xavier in the Substate 5 final. That showdown is at Xavier High School at 3:30 p.m., on Wednesday.