Cedar Rapids Xavier star Gabi Fleming joins elite ranks with fourth state championship

Baseball philosopher Yogi Berra had a lot of famous quotes. Maybe his most famous one is this: “Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical.”

While Gabi Fleming won’t speak for the statistical analysis of Berra’s claim, she agrees with the sentiment. Fleming recently won her fourth straight Iowa Class 1A state singles championship, and she said the mental side of that accomplishment was harder than the physical side.

“It definitely feels great,” Fleming said. “I’ve had to work really hard. It’s really rewarding to see that pay off. The physical sense of getting the trophies was great. But the mental sense of knowing that I did it is huge.”

Fleming set a goal for herself to win four straight titles before she entered her freshman year. She finished her career at Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids with a 79-5 record. She became the third player in Iowa high school girls’ tennis history to capture four state individual championships.

“It’s easy to be fit and be good at tennis,” she said. “But tennis is so hard on the court. You’re alone on the court. There are a ton of people watching you, but it’s just you versus the other person.

“You can’t lean on teammates. I think it’s a lot mental. Just closing out the match was the hardest part for me.”

Fleming won the first set, 6-4, in her championship match as a senior against freshman Maiya Phanchantraurai. Fleming led the second set 5-2 but lost the next two games. She managed to win the next game to clinch the title.

“The most mentally challenging part for me was just going and actually completing the goal that you set for yourself many years ago,” Fleming said.

A Tennis Household

Tennis has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember. Her parents met as Division I tennis players at the University of Northern Iowa. Her younger sister, Payton, and younger brother, Mack, are nationally ranked juniors.

The Flemings were selected as the Tennis Family of the Year for both USTA Iowa and USTA Missouri Valley a year ago.

Fleming took up the sport seriously at age 8 and started playing in USTA junior events soon after.

She won numerous USTA junior tournaments in her career, but she said the pressure was much greater in the high school tournament.

That surprised her, because she was used to the pressure of trying to win a tournament. But there’s no safety net in the state championships.