The Fairfield girls tennis team remained perfect on the season with a dominant 9-0 sweep of Mount Pleasant on Monday, August 17th, continuing their streak of 9-0 victories to open the year and setting up a highly anticipated conference matchup with Burlington later this week.
Coach Travis Dunkin switched up the lineup from the season opener against Keokuk, moving Natalie Steele to the No. 1 singles spot and Ria Ross to No. 2 — the first time either player has filled those roles this season. It also marked the first time Steele and Ross have played doubles together, as Ross and Sriya Yammanur were doubles partners last season, finishing seventh at the state tournament.
Steele was dominant at the top of the lineup in her first appearance at the No. 1 spot, defeating Katana Phangchanthong 6-0, 6-0 without dropping a single game.
Ross, sliding into the No. 2 position for the first time this season, matched that performance with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Bella Dodds. Yammanur was nearly as dominant at No. 3, dropping just one game in a 6-1, 6-0 win over Lianah Phangchanthong. Mareyn Dunkin continued her strong start to the season at No. 4, taking down Shaye Barbee 6-1, 6-0. Gebremariam won 6-1, 6-0 over Neva Swarm at No. 5, and freshman Kinzley Dunkin closed out singles with another dominant showing at No. 6, defeating Nguyen Lien 6-0, 6-0 — continuing a start to her varsity career in which she has yet to drop a single game in singles play.
The doubles matches were equally one-sided. Steele and Ross, playing together for the first time this season, immediately showed chemistry at No. 1, cruising to a 6-0, 6-0 victory over the Phangchanthong sisters. Yammanur and Gebremariam were nearly as dominant at No. 2, winning 6-2, 6-0 over Dodds and Barbee. The Dunkin duo of Mareyn and Kinzley closed things out at No. 3 with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Swarm and Lucca Moyes. Across all nine matches, Fairfield dropped just six games, winning 108 of 114 total games played.
Steele reflected on the performance. “Today went amazing. I feel like all of our players played amazing,” she said. She credited the improvement from the season opener to added focus and composure. “I feel like I was a little more focused, a little more ready for this. Less nervous. Not the first tennis match, just another one.” Looking ahead to the rest of the week, Steele expressed excitement. “I’m excited for Burlington. That will be a big conference game. And Pella, I’m super excited. That’s a lot of good competition. Ready to go kick some butt.”
Coach Dunkin was pleased with the effort and acknowledged the challenge ahead. “Great to see all the girls show up ready to go,” he said. “Been a week since being on the court with the rain cancellation and rain. Thursday will be a tough challenge for both teams. Always fun to be tested and battle against Burlington. We’ve been fortunate enough to have had their number for the last four matches so I know they’ll be coming in looking to take us out.”
The JV squad has also been impressive, going 14-2 on Monday and 11-2 against Ottumwa on Friday.
Fairfield improves to 2-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play. Mount Pleasant falls to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in conference. A previously scheduled conference match at Fort Madison on August 13th was postponed due to wet courts.
Up next for Fairfield is a highly anticipated conference showdown with Burlington coming to town on Thursday, August 20th — a matchup between the two heavy favorites for the Southeast Conference title as Fairfield looks to win their third straight conference championship. On Saturday, August 22nd, the Trojans head to Pella for the Tulip Tussle against a field featuring several ranked teams.
