The Fairfield girls tennis team had a historic day at the Class 1A Region 5 qualifier Wednesday, September 23rd at the Punj Courts in Fairfield, sending five of their six players to the state tournament — a number head coach Travis Dunkin believes may be a school record. The day began on a cold morning just before 10:00 a.m. and did not wrap up until past 6:00 p.m. in what was a marathon day of tennis. Singles and all doubles matches after the first round were held at the Punj Courts by Maharishi, while the first round of doubles was played at Fairfield Middle School. The eight teams competing were Burlington Notre Dame, Centerville, Davis County, Fairfield, Fort Madison, Keokuk, Mount Pleasant, and Mount Vernon.
Fairfield had previously sent four players to state last fall — Natalie Steele, who finished eighth in singles, Poojita Mukadam in singles, and Ria Ross and Sriya Yammanur in doubles, where they finished seventh. Wednesday’s effort eclipsed that mark.
Natalie Steele — Singles — District Champion
Steele turned in a dominant performance to claim the regional singles championship and punch her ticket to state for the third consecutive year. After a first-round bye, she defeated Claire Batterson of Davis County 6-0, 6-1 in the second round before defeating Emily Schnoor of Mount Vernon 6-0, 6-2 in the semifinal to clinch her state berth. In the championship match against Stella Dvorak of Mount Vernon — a player Steele had previously defeated at the Pella Tulip City Tussle Tournament earlier this season — Steele faced adversity early, falling behind 1-4 in the first set, before reeling off five straight points to take control and ultimately win 6-4, 6-4. She was also down early in the second set before recovering to close it out. The regional championship earns Steele better seeding heading into the state tournament.
Having finished eighth in singles at state each of the last two years, Steele said the day felt everything it was expected to. “It feels amazing. It’s senior year. I’m so hyped right now. I basically walked right through those first couple of players, but to come into that last game and have to battle 6-4, 6-4 — come back from 1-4 down — just feels great.” Looking ahead to state, Steele said she is embracing the moment. “I’m most excited to play with all these good players. It’s senior year and I’m really excited for everybody who made it to state today.” On the prospect of team state, she was equally fired up. “I’m hyped. Look, we have five players going to state right now. I’m so hyped for team state. We got this.”
Fairfield head coach Travis Dunkin praised Steele’s clutch performance. “Natalie checked another box today by becoming regional singles champion. She’s been runner-up the last two years, so I’m so happy for her. She was down 1-4 in the championship and just believed in herself and came back against a very, very good opponent to win 6-4. It was great for her confidence knowing she has what it takes to make a deep run at state.”
Ria Ross — Singles — Alternate
Ross, a state qualifier in doubles last year, made the move to singles this season and came within one match of punching her own ticket. She opened with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Paige Kramer of Burlington Notre Dame before facing Nevaeh Logan of Keokuk in the second round. Ross dominated the first set 6-2, lost focus briefly in the second set to fall 2-6, then locked back in for a 10-4 tiebreaker victory to advance — getting her revenge on Logan, who had beaten her in the conference tournament just days earlier. In the semifinal, Dvorak of Mount Vernon — who had beaten Ross in their earlier meeting at the Pella Tulip City Tussle Tournament this season — defeated Ross again 6-1, 6-3, ending her shot at an automatic state berth. Ross rebounded in the third-place match against Schnoor of Mount Vernon, winning a marathon 7-6, 6-7 (7-3), 10-5 to finish third and earn alternate status — meaning she will advance to state if Steele or Dvorak are unable to compete.
Coach Travis Dunkin said he felt for Ross despite her strong showing. “Ria was so close today. I feel bad for her — she played some great tennis today.”
Mareyn Dunkin and Kinzley Dunkin — Doubles — District Champions
The Dunkin Duo of senior Mareyn and freshman Kinzley made the most of their regional day, going undefeated and claiming the doubles district championship. They defeated Remira Snively and Londyn Mueller of Keokuk 6-0, 6-2 in the first round, swept Shaye Barbee and Neva Swarm of Mount Pleasant 6-2, 6-0 in the second round, and defeated Avery Thurn and Journey McCartt of Mount Vernon 6-0, 6-0 in the semifinal to clinch their state berth. They then faced Fairfield teammates Yammanur and Gebremariam in the championship, winning 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 to claim the district title.
For Kinzley, it is her first trip to state as a freshman. For Mareyn, it is her first after being on the outside looking in last year when her teammates made the trip without her. Asked what the moment felt like when they knew they were going to state, the duo said it all: “Surreal, excited, relief, happiness — all of the above. It was finally here and we were able to take it. All the work has finally paid off. Glad I get to experience this with my sister.”
On what it means to qualify together as sisters, the duo said: “It means everything. We got to share something most siblings don’t. And we’re very grateful and happy for it. Something we can always have together.” On their semifinal match, they said: “We had a great mindset going in knowing we had to have the points to make it to state. Start off quickly to put pressure on the opponent. Just kept believing in each other — we have this.” On the historic season: “Exciting. Fun. Challenging. A lot of pressure as we kept winning and no one wanted to be the first loss. We’re all friends and it makes this even more special.” On team state: “Very excited. We’ve been so close to team state the last two years and we all have put in so much work and effort that we think we will get it done this year.”
Coach Travis Dunkin said the Dunkin Duo’s journey was deeply personal for him as both coach and father. “For the Dunkin Duo — so happy for them. To make this as sisters is remarkable. As a coach and a dad, something I will cherish forever watching your daughters play together is something special. They came in with a mindset of getting to state and they played really good tennis together. Kinzley had a lot of pressure on herself knowing this was Mareyn’s last chance. So happy for them.”
Faeven Gebremariam and Sriya Yammanur — Doubles — District Runner-Up
Gebremariam and Yammanur punched their own tickets to state in dramatic fashion, winning a three-set regional match before falling to the Dunkin Duo in the championship. They opened with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Sadie Moss and Macie Campbell of Davis County and a 6-2, 6-0 win over Anna Stephens and Leah Morse of Mount Vernon before facing Lila Cook and Bella Dodds of Mount Pleasant in the semifinal. After dropping the first set 4-6, they rallied to win the second 6-3 and the third 6-4 to advance — including coming back from 0-3 down in the third set. In the championship, they fell to the Dunkin Duo 6-2, 3-6, 0-6.
For Yammanur, it is her second trip to state — this time with a different partner, having gone last year with Ross. For Gebremariam, it is her first state qualification. Coach Travis Dunkin said the duo gave him more gray hair than he was expecting. “Sriya and Faeven gave me more gray hair. The way they were able to battle back in that regional was great. It’s why we played in the Pella and Ottumwa tournaments — to prepare for the gotta-have moments. And in that third set being down 0-3 to battle back was great to watch.”
Dunkin also noted the personal significance of Gebremariam and Mareyn Dunkin earning their state berths this year. “I’m so happy that Mareyn and Faeven earned state because last year they were the ones on the outside looking in at their friends and teammates going to state — and for them to earn it this year is something I’m so happy for.”
Dunkin summed up the day with pure excitement. “Holy buckets — what a day. I’m beyond happy and excited to announce that we are sending five out of six Trojan players to state. Pretty sure that’s a school record as well. Absolutely outstanding job all day. So happy and proud of all these girls. They fought and battled so hard today. Quite the accomplishment to earn state.” He added: “Qualifying one is hard enough alone and we got five. Which is crazy to think about. That shows how deep we are as a team.”
With five players headed to the individual state tournament at Waukee Northwest High School in Waukee on October 7th and 8th, Fairfield’s next immediate focus is punching their ticket to the team state tournament as well. If the Trojans qualify, the team state tournament takes place October 12th and 13th at Pella High School in Pella.
Ranked ninth in Class 1A as a team, Fairfield will host Fort Madison on Saturday, September 26th at 10:00 a.m. in the first round of team state qualifying. If they advance, they will face either Mount Pleasant or Oskaloosa on Wednesday, September 30th. A win there would send Fairfield to the team state championship match, likely against Assumption from the other side of the bracket.
Individually, Steele enters the state tournament ranked eighth in Class 1A — with Dvorak, the player she defeated in the regional championship, ranked ninth. The stage is set for what could be Fairfield’s most successful state tournament run in program history.
