A brand-new pairing will participate in the Class 2A girls state tennis tournament in the persons of Cedar Rapids Washington’s Rina Moore and Lilly Hartman.

Moore and Hartman defeated Linn-Mar’s Mackenzie Luehring and Anna Schlueter, 6-2, 6-2, in the regional finals at the Veterans Memorial Tennis Center Thursday to fly into the state tournament here May 30-31.

The regional tournament was the first sanctioned doubles play for the pair, “but we play together in the summer a lot,” Hartman said after the match.

Washington Coach Liz Bertrand said she teamed Moore, a junior, and Hartman, a sophomore, after their usual doubles partners decided they wanted to compete in singles.

“They’re both very good net players apart and together, so putting them together looked like the approach to take,” Bertrand said.

Indeed, both girls cited their strong net play as the key factor in their success. “We like to be pretty aggressive at the net,” said Moore.

Bertrand’s preparation for the state tournament?

“Keep your mental game strong as well as your tennis game,” she said. “I think they both do that really well, so just keep doing what you’re doing.”

Dubuque Hempstead senior Katie Meyer defeated Washington senior Kristin King, 6-1, 6-3, for the regional singles title. That was despite Meyer’s semifinal match, a 6-4, 6-1 win over Linn-Mar’s Ashley Smith, taking 45 minutes longer than King’s.

“I wasn’t too tired,” said Meyer, the tournament’s top seed. “My semifinal match, I had a lot of nerves, so that maybe derailed my planning a little bit. I was hitting the ball well, especially in the final.”

Second-seed King defeated Linn-Mar’s Gabi Botsford, 6-1, 6-2, in her semifinal match.

In the doubles bracket, Moore and Hartman defeated Hayli Beeson and Kelsey Granneman of Ottumwa, 6-3, 6-4, in the semifinal. Luehring and Schlueter beat Washington’s Ashley Berg and Kitty McGurk, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1, to reach the final.

In the consolation matches, Beeson and Granneman defeated Berg and McGurk, 7-6, 6-1, in the doubles bracket. In singles, Smith defeated her Linn-Mar teammate Botsford, 6-2, 3-6, 10-3, for third place.

The regional champion and runner-up in singles and doubles advance to the state meet.