Fairfield Tennis hosted a shootout singles invitational at the MIU Recreation Center today. Players traveled from Keokuk, Mt Pleasant, and Bloomfield to compete against Fairfield’s top high school players.
“It proved to be a good tune up for the upcoming season,” explained Steve Briggs, the tournament organizer. “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 FHS rival, Garrett Flanagan. Luo lost just 6 games in four matches, clinching first place with an 8-1 victory over Flanagan.
Garrett, an FHS senior, and Ruimin had some battles last spring and everyone expects more of the same when they face off in April. Garrett and his partner, Jace Hanna, were the only state 2022 state qualifiers from the area.
Newcomer to the Maharishi team, Han “Solo” Wang, surprised everyone with a 4th 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 Jace Hanna was one of the better matches, but another Maharishi teammate, senior Jayanta Wegman edged Han for 3rd place after ousting Mt 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.”
“The boys played some exceptional tennis, but Ishita and Poojita Mukadam, the #1 & 2 players from Maharishi School’s girls team, played equally well,” said Briggs. The sisters finished 4th & 5th place, registering impressive wins over top players from area boys’ teams.