CEDAR RAPIDS — This is the time prep tennis coaches are put to the test.
With rosters due Monday for Thursday’s Class 1A and 2A district meets, boys’ tennis coaches are challenged to find their best possible lineup.
It turns out that determining lineups for district competition is more complex than filling out a sheet with names. Coaches implore strategy to try to advance as many athletes to the state meet as well as improving the team’s chances to reach team substate.
Coaches and players have to decide whether to compete in singles …

CEDAR RAPIDS — Megan Furnish can compete with the best golfers.
The Cedar Rapids Jefferson sophomore proved that well before she swung a club for the J-Hawk varsity team.
Last summer, Furnish showed her potential and she’s continued her solid play in competition during her first season of varsity competition.
“It’s been really fun so far,” Furnish said. “My game’s been pretty good. It’s had its ups and downs, but it’s a good learning experience.”
The ups have outnumbered the downs. She’s contended for medalist honors in almost every event, capturing the top prize …

The following is a softball schedule for Cedar Rapids Jefferson.
Coach Larry Niemeyer needs 13 wins to reach 2,000 for his career. It’s not a matter of if it will happen this season, but when. A good bet would be sometime around the Jefferson Classic, June 11-12.
There are some challenges before that, most notably double-headers against Dubuque Wahlert, Iowa City West, Cedar Falls and Waterloo West.
Jefferson has a talented, veteran team that likely will be ranked in the top five in Class 4A. Top returners include pitcher Hannah Petersen, shortstop Morgan …

The Class 2A district assignments were released by the Iowa High School Athletic Association. They begin May 13. The top two in each districts, in both singles and doubles, advance to the state meets May 28 and 29 in Waterloo (Class 1A) and Cedar Rapids’ Veterans Memorial Tennis Complex (2A).
Cedar Rapids Jefferson hosts a district with Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Cedar Rapids Washington, Cedar Rapids Xavier and Marshalltown. Iowa City High also hosts a district with Iowa City West, Burlington, Davenport West, Muscatine and Ottumwa. Linn-Mar heads to Dubuque …

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Cedar Rapids Jefferson and Cedar Rapids Xavier girls’ team traded their traditional school colors for something a little more meaningful Saturday.
The J-Hawks and Saints took the court for their tennis match, wearing pink shirts, in an attempt to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. The event, called “Volleying for Breast Cancer” featured the pink uniform tops, flowers given to players’ mothers and a donation to a local charity that holds a special place in Jefferson Coach Pam Towe’s heart.
Towe was diagnosed with breast cancer in …

Cedar Rapids Jefferson’s Jarrod Uthoff said Sunday night that Indiana offered him a basketball scholarship earlier Sunday.
It’s the eighth offer for the 6-foot-8 junior: Indiana, Indiana State, Northern Iowa, Iowa State, Creighton, Albany, Northern Colorado and Arizona State. Uthoff also met with new Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery on Saturday, but was not offered a scholarship.
“Very exciting,” Uthoff said of the Indiana offer. “It’s the Big 10. It’s an awesome opportunity.”
Uthoff said he has no timetable to make a college decision. He is scheduled to play in “open gyms” for coaches from Iowa, …

CEDAR RAPIDS — Goalkeeper Cara Evans suffered a right elbow injury in the middle of a shootout Monday night at Kingston Stadium. She thinks it’s some sort of ligament issue.
The game was held up awhile to see if Evans could continue playing. She did, making a save that helped give the Cedar Rapids Jefferson girls’ soccer team a 1-0 upset win over rival and defending Class 2A state champion Cedar Rapids Kennedy.
How fitting for these J-Hawks. They won’t wow you with a ton of flash — or goals, for that …

A pair of local tennis programs will host a Breast Cancer Awareness Day during their meet on April 17th. According to Cedar Rapids Xavier girls’ tennis coach Erin Seely, teams from Xavier and Cedar Rapids Jefferson will be wearing pink for the event.
Both schools will be holding various fundraisers in connection with the event.
The meet between the J-Hawks and the Saints is set for 9 a.m. at Xavier.

CEDAR RAPIDS — His interview skills are probably his biggest weakness right now.
It’s not that Jarrod Uthoff is disagreeable with the media or anything. He’s willing to talk to any newspaper, radio or TV reporter who asks for a minute or two, and usually does it with a smile.
It’s just that the Cedar Rapids Jefferson center doesn’t have a whole lot to say. That’s despite being a 4.0 student and the junior class president.
Maybe he’s not used to all the attention that comes with being a standout athlete, yet.
“He really …

Talked to Cedar Rapids Jefferson junior center Jarrod Uthoff on Thursday night, and he said he hopes to make a college commitment within the next couple of weeks or so.
The 6-foot-8 and still-growing Uthoff was a first-team Class 4A all-state pick by the Iowa Newspaper Association, helping Jefferson to its first state tournament appearance since 1999. He averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds per game.
From talking to him and others, it appears his college choice will come down to either Northern Iowa or Creighton. He wouldn’t say it, but word …