Mount Pleasant's Isanta Vila wins SEC tennis crown

FAIRFIELD Southeast Conference girls tennis reached its pinnacle Thursday as Mt. Pleasant, Fairfield, Burlington, Fort Madison and Keokuk all faced off in the Southeast Conference Girls Tennis Tournament.

For Mt. Pleasants Jana Isanta Vila it was a fantastic day. The Winfield Mt. Union student put on a dominant performance en route to the SEC singles title.

In doubles, Fairfield's Emma Wendland and Sriya Yammanur finished second to lead the Union area.

Starting with singles, Isanta Vila received a bye in the first round as the No. 1 seed.

In her first match of the day, Isanta Vila earned a sweep, defeating Burlington's Ava Fawcett 6-0 in a pair of matches.

After that win, Isanta Vila earned a match with second-seeded Nevaeh Logan of Keokuk. The Panther had no problem beating Logan 6-0, 6-2 for the title.

In other singles action, Mt. Pleasant's Ellie Situmeang in fifth.

Situmeang, who was ranked No. 6, fell out of the gate in a closely contested battle, 4-6, 6-2, 10-2 to No. 3 Madison Taeger of Burlington.

She rebounded with a pair of wins for fifth place, beating Fairfield's Faith Jones 8-3 and the Trojans' Mareyn Dunkin 8-1.

The loss gave Dunkin a sixth overall finish. The No. 4 seed was defeated 6-1, 6-4 by Fawcett in her first match. An injury on the following lap dropped Dunkin to fifth place.

As for Jones, she opened with a stellar performance against Fort Madison's Alyssa Crowther. Jones won both sets 6-0.

However, a tough match against Keokuk's Logan followed in the next round. Jones put in a brave effort, but fell 6-2 in straight sets.

After her loss to Mt. Pleasants Situmeang, Jones earned a seventh-place finish after beating Sophia Rule of Keokuk due to injury.

In doubles, Wendland and Yammanur kicked things off with a 6-3, 6-0 win in the first match.

The pair then went the distance with Burlington's Moffett and Weaver, but managed to get by with a 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 10-6 win.

The No. 2 seed Trojans series came to an end against top-seeded Mosley and Buxton of Burlington in the finals, 6-1, 6-0.

Also for Fairfield, Una Carter and Lola Hatchette finished in seventh place. The pair took a 6-3, 6-3 win in their first match of the day and followed up with an 8-6 victory for seventh place.

The top finishers for the Panthers came in the form of Audrey Richmond and Bethany Drury.

The duo finished fifth overall. After falling just short, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 10-7 in their first match of the day, the pair recovered with wins of 8-3 and 8-6 to secure a place to be in the top five.

Mt. Pleasants Mary Kate Peterson and Victoria Smith finished ninth.

The two were defeated by Carter and Hatchette, but answered back with an 8-6 win to finish ninth.

SEC Singles Bracket Finishes for Girls

1. Jana Isanta – Mount Pleasant * All Conference Singles 1st place

2. Nevaeh Logan – Keokuk * All Conference Singles 2nd place

3. Ava Fawcett – Burlington *All Conference Singles 3rd place

4. Madison Taeger-Burlington

5. Ellie Situmeang – Mt. Nice

6. Mareyn Dunkin-Fairfield

7. Faith Jones Fairfield

8. Sophia Rule – Keokuk

9. Alyssa Crowther – Ft. Madison

10. Elizabeth Tanner – Ft. Madison

Girls SEC Doubles Bracket Finishes

1. Emily Mosley & Anna Buxton – Burlington *All conference doubles 1st place

2. Emma Wendland & Sriya Yamannur – Fairfield *All Conference doubles 2nd place

3. Ava Moffet & Lorelei Weaver – Burlington *All Conference Doubles 3rd place

4. Gracie Thompson & Annabel Benson – Keokuk

5. Bethany Drury & Audrey Richmond – Mount Pleasant

6. Lila Shepard & Lily Arnold – Ft. Madison

7. Una Carter and Lola Hatchette – Fairfield

8. Elizabeth Stambaugh & Aubree Dade – Keokuk

9. Mary Kate Peterson & Victoria Smith – Mount Pleasant

10. Mady Emmett & Brook Johnson – Ft. Madison

SEC girls tennis team double records:

1. Burlington 8-0 * SEC Girls Tennis Team Champions

2. Mount Pleasant 5-3

3. Fairfield 4-4

4. Keokuk 3-5

5. Foot Madison 0-8