Brotherly love stopped at the net on the Linn-Mar tennis courts Thursday as the Lions' doubles team led by senior Tyler McCann trounced kid brother Trevor’s duo, 6-1, 6-1, to claim a district championship.

Putting both of its doubles teams in the finals, however, helped propel Linn-Mar to the team title in the six-team Class 2A field.

In singles competition, Kennedy’s undefeated and top-seeded Riley Galbraith coasted to three lopsided wins for a return to the state tournament, May 25-26 at Veterans Memorial Tennis Center in Cedar Rapids.

Galbraith’s run powered the Cougars to the runner-up spot in the team standings. Dubuque Hempstead came in third.

Tyler McCann finished third in state doubles last year when he teamed with since graduated Gavin Young.

Paired this season with sophomore Brady Anderson, the two were top-seeded for Thursday’s district tournament. Anderson lost last year in singles play to eventual third-place finisher Kyle Appel of Iowa City West.

The McCann/Anderson duo proved to be a powerhouse, losing just three games in their three district victories.

“We played well all day,” said McCann. “This was a big accomplishment. And I think we’ve got a chance to go all the way this year.”

He noted that he and his partner this year have already defeated two of other top doubles teams in this part of the state from Cedar Rapids Washington and Iowa City West.

“We make a good team,” said Anderson. “Tyler’s better at the net, and I’m more of a baseline player. We balance each other out.”

They showed little mercy on teammates Trevor McCann, a freshman, and junior John Kuster.  Seeded third, the Lions’ number two doubles team had advanced to the finals by upsetting second-seeded Colten Jourdan and Jacob Donald of Jefferson.

“Obviously, we didn’t play our best,” Trevor McCann explained of the pasting they took in the championship match.  They also advanced to the state tournament in two weeks, though.

Galbraith, who had a two-hour break before playing a Kennedy soccer match at Linn-Mar Thursday night, had little trouble in his quest to better his fourth-place singles finish in last year’s state tournament.  In what he thought beforehand would be his toughest challenge, he easily dispatched of second-seed Nick Johnson of Hempstead, 6-1, 6-1.

Galbraith said playing on both the varsity tennis and soccer squads this spring has put him in tip-top shape.

“To have to be in good condition to play soccer,” he said.  “I didn’t get tired today. And in all of my matches, I thought the other guys got worn out in the second set.

“This was a great day. I was just on from the start and hitting all my shots. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

Johnson also advances to the state tournament.

Linn-Mar Coach Chris Wundram said capturing the district team title is a big step toward reaching the goal of sending the entire squad to the separate team state tourney.

“We’ve won a Mississippi Valley Conference title the last four years but have always fallen one match short of the state tournament,” he said.

The Lions advance to the substate team tournament at Jefferson on May 19 where they will play either Bettendorf or Pleasant Valley. Kennedy will host Hempstead in preliminary round match Saturday at Coe College. The winner of that match also will advance to Jefferson on May 19 to play Clinton.

The Mustangs lost any chance of finishing ahead of Kennedy and hosting Saturday's match when their doubles team defaulted in the consolation round due to back injury suffered by sophomore Jeff Teng.  Jefferson’s Donald and Jourdan were awarded third place, giving the J-Hawks enough points to finish fourth in the team standings.

CLASS 2A DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
At Linn-Mar

Teams -- 1. Linn-Mar 27, 2. CR Kennedy 19, 3. Dubuque Hempstead 15, 4. CR Jefferson 8, 5. Dubuque Senior 5, 6. Mashalltown 4

Singles

First Round
Noah Mozena (DS) def. Nathan Longfield (DH), 6-2, 6-2
Daniel Britton (CRJ) def. Kalei Platt (Mar), 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
Quinn Jamrock (DS) def. Justin Yuan (DS), 6-4, 6-2
Blake Young (LM) def. Zach Denny (CRJ), 6-1, 6-0

Quarterfinals
Riley Galbraith (CRK) def. Noah Mozena (DS), 6-0, 6-0
Dillon Einck (LM) def. Daniel Britton (CRJ), 6-2, 6-1
Ryan Shomo (Mar) def. Quinn Jamrock (DS), 6-1, 6-2
Nick Johnson (DH) def. Blake Young (LM), 6-0, 6-1

Semifinals
Riley Galbraith (CRK) def. Dillon Einck (LM), 6-0, 6-0
Nick Johnson (DH) def. Ryan Shomo (Mar), 6-3, 6-0

Third Place
Ryan Shomo (Mar) def. Dillon Einck (LM), 6-3, 6-2

Championship
Riley Galbraith (CRK) def. Nick Johnson (DH), 6-1, 6-1

Doubles

First Round
Mozena/Busch (DS) def. Pfeil/Shuman (CRJ), 7-5, 6-1
Teng/Bortscheller (DH) def. Brada/Dalluge (Mar)
Cunningham/Blomberg (CRK) def. Dohner/Salwolke (DS), 6-2, 6-2
White/Tinsman (DH) def. Podhajsky/Lents (Mar), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

Quarterfinals
Anderson/McCann (LM) def. Mozena/Busch (DS), 6-0, 6-1
Teng/Bortscheller (DH) def. Venkatesh/Martin (CRK), 7-6, 1-6, 6-0
McCann/Kuster (LM) def. Cunningham/Blomberg (CRK), 6-3, 6-0
Donald/Jourdan (CRJ) def. White/Tinsman (DH), 6-0, 6-3

Semifinals
Anderson/McCann (LM) def. Teng/Bortscheller (DH), 6-0, 6-0
McCann/Kuster (LM) def. Donald/Jourdan (CRJ), 6-2, 6-3

Third Place
Jourdan/Donald (CRJ) def. Teng/Bortscheller (DH), injury default

Championship
Anderson/McCann (LM) def. McCann/Kuster (LM), 6-3, 6-2