When Fairfield High School’s girls tennis team was ranked 6th in one preseason poll and 10th in the Iowa Girls Tennis Coaches Poll for Class 1A, expectations were set high for the 2025 fall season. Three matches into the campaign, the Trojans are proving those rankings were well-deserved, posting three dominant 9-0 shutout victories that have established them as a legitimate postseason contender. Poojita Mukadam was also ranked fifth for a preseason individual poll.
The transition has been particularly impressive given the sport’s recent change from spring to fall in Iowa high school athletics. When asking Coach Travis Dunkin about the quick turnaround, he said, “We had some ankle injuries at the end of last season, which limited how much the girls could play over the summer. That made the quick turnaround into the new season a challenge, but I’m fortunate to have a very experienced varsity group. They were able to hit the ground running after just a couple practices.” He notes that he wouldn’t consider calling tennis a “fall” sport considering the start time of the season compared to other sports like football and volleyball. To him and most other people, it may be more of a summer sport starting in early August. Also, starting this early has created some challenges. When asked about the difficulties of the season change, he continues, “It creates challenges for players who are working summer jobs and for families who are trying to schedule vacations before school starts. That said, I have a great group this year. We have 21 girls on the team, a lot of them juniors and seniors, and they show up every day ready to improve. We’ve set high goals, and they’re pushing each other to reach them.”
In their previous season, they captured the Southeast Conference championship with a perfect 8-0 conference record and finished 16-2 overall. Their magical season came to an end in the regional championship game, falling to Xavier, who went on to capture the Class 1A state team title. Both Poojita Mukadam and Natalie Steele qualified for state in individual play. Steele got eighth place, overtaking Mukadam along the way in their matchup against each other.
Game 1: Trojans Overwhelm Big Reds
Fairfield opened their season with a commanding 9-0 victory over Centerville on August 7th, setting the tone for what would become a pattern of dominance. In singles play, Poojita Mukadam led the way at the position one spot with an 8-0 victory over Ava Allen, followed by equally impressive performances from Natalie Steele (8-0 over Kelsie Taylor) and Ria Ross, who posted an 8-2 win over Samantha Lee – the closest any opponent would come to taking a set in the opening match. The dept showed immediately, with Sriya Yammaur, Mareyn Dunkin, and Faith Jones all recording 8-0 singles victories. In doubles, the Trojans continued their dominance with the Mukadam-Steele pairing winning 8-2, while Ross-Yammanur (8-1) and Dunkin-Jones (8-0) completed the sweep. The 72-5 game differential demonstrated not just team depth, but individual dominance at every position. Impressively, the Trojans do even better soon to come.
Shawn McCarty, of State Farm Insurance, elected Faith Jones as Ottumwa Radio Group’s 104.3 KRKN Athlete of the Week with her play against Centerville. Unfortunately, this will be Faith’s last tennis match. With tennis moving to the fall season, it now conflicts with volleyball, which Jones has chosen to pursue.
Game 2: Keokuk Continues the Trojan Trend
The second match against Keokuk was unique, as the Chiefs only arrived with five players to their home courts instead of a full six-player roster for the August 11th conference matchup. Despite the numbers disadvantage, Keokuk’s Nevaeh Logan provided the stiffest individual test Fairfield had faced so far, pushing Natalie Steele, who moved up to the first position, to the brink in an epic three-set battle that went 5-7, 6-4, and 10-8 in Steele’s favor. After dropping the first set to Logan (which was the first set any Trojan lost so far this season), she could have folded under pressure, but instead, she showed the mental toughness that separates good players from great ones. After all, she battled to be an individual state champion just a few months ago! Her 6-4 second set victory forced a decisive third set, where she ultimately prevailed 10-8 in what became the most competitive individual match of Fairfield’s opening stretch.
The rest of the singles lineup was clinical: Lizzy Mason fell to Poojita Mukadam 6-0, 6-0, Ria Ross only dropped one game to Baylee Picton 6-0, 6-1, Sriya Yammanur went perfect against Paityn James 6-0, 6-0, as well as Mareyn Dunkin against Alexa Sanchez 6-0, 6-0. For doubles, Steele and Mukadam rested and the other girls went to work. Ross-Yammanur won 8-3 against Logan-Mason. Faeven Gebremariam stepped in for doubles to pair with Dunkin as they won 8-1 against Picton-James. This completes yet another 9-0 team victory.
Game 3: No Mercy for Fort Madison
The Trojans completed their opening trio of matches with another 9-0 victory over the Bloodhounds of Fort Madison at home on August 14th, demonstrating remarkable consistency across their lineup. Mukadam stepped back into the first position and continued her perfect start with an 8-0 victory over Mady Emmett. Mukadam has yet to drop a single game in singles play so far throughout her first three matchups. Steele matched that performance against Lucille Zimmerman. Ross maintained her strong play with an 8-0 win over Sydney McEntee, and the pattern continued throughout the lineup. Yammanur defeated Savannah Sissel 8-1, Dunkin shutout Athena Snook 8-0, and Gebremariam closed out singles play with an 8-0 victory over Bella Vollmer. The doubles teams of Mukadam-Steele, Ross-Yammanur, and Dunkin-Gebremariam all posted 8-0 victories to complete the sweep, winning 72 games and only dropping 1 on the day.
Throughout these three matches, Fairfield has outscored opponents 27-0, with only a handful of games lost across the entire team. The consistency from top to bottom has been particularly impressive – while Mukadam and Steele anchor the top of the lineup, players like Ross, Yammanur, Dunkin, and Gebremariam have shown they can deliver when called upon. Fairfield had high expectations going into the season, and they are currently living up to the hype.
Fairfield’s next matchup is against conference foe, Mount Pleasant, tomorrow on August 18th. The remaining home games are on August 28th, September 4th, and September 8th, against Keokuk, Mount Pleasant, and Burlington.
