The Boone girls’ tennis team made a statement at the 2025 Class 1A Individual State Tournament, with doubles partners Kaylee Kuehl and Livi Schneider earning an impressive 5th place finish.
“What a great tournament for these two going 4-1 and for sure putting their names on the tennis radar,” said head coach Shawn Latimer.
The tournament began with a comeback in the opening round, where Kuehl and Schneider overcame a first-set loss to Addison VanWyk and Reagan DeJong of Pella, rallying to win 3–6, 6–3, 6–3.
In the quarterfinals, the Boone pair faced the top-seeded team from Decorah, Grace Huinker and Olivia Huinker.
Despite a strong effort, they fell 4–6, 0–6, moving into the consolation bracket.
“They had the No. 1 seed on the ropes in the second round, being up 4-1 in the first set before Decorah turned it around,” Latimer said.
Kuehl and Schneider dominated their next three matches.
They swept Addy Joslin and Lauren Muller of Dike-New Hartford 6–0, 6–2 in the consolation quarterfinals, then defeated Ria Ross and Sriya Yammanur of Fairfield 6–2, 6–0 in the consolation semifinals.
In a rematch for 5th place, Boone once again faced VanWyk and DeJong and delivered a decisive 6–2, 6–3 victory.
“Bouncing back all the way to 5th place is an amazing accomplishment, and they have bigger dreams for next year!” Latimer said
Kuehl and Schneider next will compete with their team at the Class 1A State Team Tennis Tournament Monday, October 6, at 9 a.m. at Caldwell Park in Pella.
Jill Lutz reporting
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