lane olson returns a shot for Webster City against Iowa Falls-Alden on Tuesday afternoon. (DFJ photo by David Borer)

While making strides on the court, the Webster City boys’ tennis team came up short against Iowa Falls-Alden, falling in a 7-2 decision on Tuesday at the Lynx Courts in Webster City.

Despite setbacks in their singles matches, senior duo Lane Olson and Alex Cruz captured a 7-4 win to take a 8-7 triumph from Aaron Halverson and Tyson Pohlmann. Junior Rogan Nepereny took the lone victory in singles’ competition for the Lynx, outlasted Lane Madden with an 8-6 result.

“We came up short again, but played exponentially better as a team,” said Greta Nelson, WCHS boys’ tennis coach. “(Nepereny) was much more consistent and smart with his shots, which helped lead to his victory. (Cruz and Olson) are a great duo. They communicate and move across the court well, and took lessons from their Nevada doubles match to improve upon their play this time around.”

In the wake of the setback, the Lynx fell to 0-2 so far in their spring campaign. The Cadets improved to 3-1 overall.

At 4:30 today, Webster City will travel south to face North Polk at the North Polk Tennis Courts in Alleman. The Comets come in with a 2-1 record.

Several matches had scores that were quite deceiving, as Olson’s 8-5 setback against Pohlmann, Cruz’s 8-4 loss against Halverson and Wibholm’s 8-3 result against Nick Frohwein were rather close contests. According to Nelson, Wibholm went to deuce in almost every game, while freshman Cael Alexander rallied from a 4-1 deficit, before coming up short at 8-6.

“Now, we can get to work on taking the momentum of these close points and comebacks, and finish strong,” Nelson said. “It’s a lot of fun for me seeing these new, young players genuinely enjoy this sport, even in the losses. They have great attitudes and are representing our community well.”