Fairfield plays host to invitational tennis tournament
Mar. 16—FAIRFIELD — Fairfield played host to a shootout singles invitational tennis tournament this past weekend. Players traveled from Keokuk, Mount Pleasant, and Bloomfield to compete against Fairfield's top high school players at the recreation center on the campus of Maharishi International University.
"It proved to be a good tune up for the upcoming season," explained tournament organizer Steve Briggs. "The matches were closely contested. Fans enjoyed seeing some quality tennis, no doubt about it."
Maharishi School sophomore, Ruimin Luo, captured first prize with a dominant performance against Fairfield High School rival, Garrett Flanagan. Luo lost just six games in four matches, clinching first place with an 8-1 victory over Flanagan.
Flanagan, a senior at Fairfield, and Ruimin have had some battles last spring. Everyone expects more of the same when they face off in April during the high school boys tennis season. Flanagan and his partner, Jace Hannes, were the only state 2022 state qualifiers from the area.
Newcomer to the Maharishi team, Han 'Solo' Wang, surprised everyone with a fourth-place finish.
"Han has been playing less than five months, but he practices with Ruimin every day and they work hard really hard," said Briggs. "Han is exceptionally quick and he's got good reflexes. He's got a substantial upside as does his buddy Ruimin."
Han's hard fought 8-6 win over Hannes was one of the better matches. It was another Maharishi teammate, senior Jayanta Wegman, that edged Han for third place after ousting Mount Pleasant's top entry, Jake Ensminger.
"Jay showed a lot of poise in some tight matches today," said Briggs. "He's developing some reliable weapons with his serve and forehand."
Ishita and Poojita Mukadam, the top-two players from Maharishi School's girls team, played equally well according to Briggs. The sisters finished fourth and fifth place, registering impressive wins over top players from area boys' teams.
Tennis season for both the Fairfield girls and boys gets underway with Southeast Conference duals against Fort Madison on Thursday, Mar. 30. The Trojan boys will host the Bloodhounds at the complex outside Fairfield Middle School while the Trojan girls make the trip to Fort Madison for their season opener.
The Pioneer boys open their season in Bloomfield against Davis County on Apr. 4. Fairfield and Maharishi will meet in girls tennis this season on Apr. 20.
