Brady Anderson began banging a tennis ball around when he was about 7 years old. He's gotten pretty good at it over the years.

The Linn-Mar junior won both of his matches at the Class 2A state tournament Friday at the Veterans Memorial Tennis Center and will play in the semifinals Saturday at 10 a.m.

Anderson, the No.1 seed, will face No.4 seed David DiLeo of Iowa City West in a battle to see who makes the finals at 2 p.m.

Anderson clipped Andrew Ellis of Ames, 6-0, 7-5, in the first round and defeated Drew Hays of Waukee, 6-2, 6-1, in the quarterfinals.

"Overall I thought I played pretty well," said Anderson. "Hopefully I've saved my best for tomorrow."

Mitch Blades and Jackson Hoyt from Cedar Rapids Washington won both of their matches in straight sets Friday to reach the semifinals in Class 2A doubles.

Blades and Hoyt, seeded No.3, will face No.2 seed Kyle Appel and Blake Oetting of Iowa City West at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Anderson (21-2) did not know if he'd get the No.1 seed when the coaches held their meeting early Friday morning to hash it out.

"I don't think it's a big deal if I'm the No.1 seed or not," he said. "The important thing is trying to play my best and move on in the tournament and try to win and keep improving."

Anderson began hitting tennis balls when he was a young kid. He began playing seriously a few years later.

"Seriously, probably when I was 9 or 10 and I started playing some tournaments," he said. "I've been playing since I was around 7, so quite a while."

Linn-Mar Coach Chris Wundram thinks Anderson has the temperament and talent to win the state title.

"He's pretty even-keeled," said Wundram. "In the state tournament a lot of people get upset or they get nervous, but you can't really tell from Brady's face if he's winning or losing, which in the state tournament is a really good thing. He has great composure."

Wundram said Anderson has improved as a player this season.

"He's getting a little bigger, a little stronger," the coach said. "He's been a good defensive player, but he's now kind of developed an offense, too. He's able to dictate points if he needs to and also play good defense, which is huge."

Wundram effectively lobbied for Anderson to be the No.1 seed at the coaches meeting.

"He deserved it," said Wundram. "We travelled across the state and he's played a lot of good players this year. He's proven himself, so it didn't surprise me that he was the No.1 seed.

"Do I think Brady can beat anybody in this tournament? Absolutely I do," said Wundram. "He has a great chance, but he's going to have to play well. He'll have to dig down and we'll see what happens tomorrow."

The singles tournament went according to form Friday with all four of the top seeds advancing. The other semifinal will feature No.2 Alex Huang of Ames against No.3 Charlie Humes of Pleasant Valley.

Three of the top-4 seeds in doubles advanced with No.1 Ames, No.2 Iowa City West and No.3 Cedar Rapids Washington moving into the semifinals. Cedar Falls upset the No.4 team from West Des Moines Valley and will face Ames in the semifinals.

Tim Paulson of Linn-Mar lost his first match in the Round of 16, but won both of his matches in the consolation bracket Friday and can finish as high as fifth place if he wins two matches Saturday.

Paulson lost to Humes of Pleasant Valley, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. He defeated Caleb Shudak of Lewis Central, 6-2, 6-1, and Hays of Waukee, 6-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-3) in the consolation bracket to stay alive.

The Linn-Mar doubles team of Trevor McCann and John Kuster lost both of their matches Friday and were eliminated.

CLASS 2A SINGLES

OPENING ROUND

Brady Anderson (Linn-Mar) def. Andrew Ellis (Ames), 6-0, 7-5
Drew Hays (Waukee) def. Michael Porcubin (Bettendorf), 4-6, 7-6, 6-2
Andy Mong (Cedar Falls) def. AJ Naanep (Johnston), 6-2, 7-5
David DiLeo (IC West) def. Sam Rice (SE Polk), 6-0, 6-0
Charlie Humes (Pleasant Valley) def. Tim Paulson (Linn-Mar), 6-4, 6-3
Rex Ju (Cedar Falls) def. Caleb Shudak (Lewis Central), 6-0, 5-1 (retired)
Ryan Shomo (Marshalltown) def. Jackson Guilford (Indianola), 6-1, 6-3.
Alex Huang (Ames) def. Jack Sackett (Dowling), 6-1, 6-0.

QUARTERFINALS

Anderson (Linn-Mar) def. Hays (Waukee), 6-2, 6-1
DiLeo (IC West) def. Mong (Cedar Falls), 6-0, 6-3.
Humes (Pleasant Valley) def. Ju (Cedar Falls), 6-2, 6-0
Huang (Ames) def. Shomo (Marshalltown), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1

CLASS 2A DOUBLES

OPENING ROUND

Alex Qin/Tommy Pitcher (Ames) def. Ryan Marshall/Grant Menadue (Ankeny), 6-0, 6-0
Adam Dellos/Trent Schneider (IC West) def. Jake Kuyper/Mike Sylvester (Waukee), 7-5, 6-0
James McManus/Roy Ju (Cedar Falls) def. Forrest Campbell/Bryce Brien (Bettendorf), 6-1, 6-0
Ryan Peterson/Yasha Litvak (WDM Valley) def. Trevor McCann/John Kuster (Linn-Mar), 6-4, 6-2
Mitch Blades/Jackson Hoyt (Washington) def. AJ Smith/Sam Perenich (Pleasant Valley), 6-2, 6-2
Luke Benna/Tabor VanDePol (Ankeny) def. Anders Jensen/Tommy Maiggard (WDM Valley), 7-5, 7-6
Jacob Kruse/Ryan Schroeder (Clinton) def. Brian Murman/Andrew Stover (Fort Dodge), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Kyle Appel/Blake Oetting (IC West) def. Jack Pitsar/Matt Triplett (Dowling), 6-2, 6-0.

QUARTERFINALS

Qin/Pitcher (Ames) def. Dellos/Schneider (IC West), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
McManus/Ju (Cedar Falls) def. Peterson/Litvak (WDM Valley), 6-4, 6-4
Blades/Hoyt (Washington) def. Benna/VanDePol (Ankeny), 6-3, 6-2
Appel/Oetting (IC West) def. Kruse/Schroeder (Clinton), 6-4, 6-2