The Ankeny Centennial boys’ tennis team split a pair of matches on Saturday at the Marshalltown Invitational.
The Jaguars defeated Bettendorf, 5-4, for their first win of the season. They later dropped a 10-1 decision to Cedar Falls.
“We are getting better every week,” said Centennial coach Tami Lewton, whose team is now 1-3 on the year. “When districts come around, the guys will be ready.”
In its opening meet, Centennial split the six singles matches against Bettendorf (2-1). The Jaguars got victories from Caleb Peterson at the No. 1 spot, Brayden Wellendorf at No. 4 and Joel Nelson at No. 6.
“We had some nice wins in singles,” Lewton said. “Caleb is so solid at No. 1, and Brayden as a freshman has really been impressive. He just never gives up. Joel challenged into our singles lineup and did a fantastic job at No. 6 with a win.”
Peterson then teamed up with Kellen Jones for a 6-2, 6-4 victory at No. 1 doubles. Bettendorf won the No. 2 doubles match in straight sets, which left the outcome of the meet riding on the No. 3 doubles match.
Fortunately for the Jaguars, the duo of Nick Hiney and Jack Lacey came through in the clutch. They won a third-set super-tiebreaker, 10-7, to defeat the Bettendorf team of Mark Brooks and Andrew Swanson.
“Our doubles really improved,” Lewton said. “Caleb and Kellen are great at No. 1, and Nick and Jack really came through with a big win. I was really proud of them.”
In the loss to Cedar Falls (3-3), Centennial’s lone victory came at No. 1 singles, where Peterson rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Neel Shah. Peterson is now 4-0 in singles on the season, having dropped only four games along the way.
“Everyone really struggled in singles except for Caleb,” Lewton said. “With so many of our kids new to the varsity lineup, we are just starting to learn how to overcome adversity. Cedar Falls is a tough, loud team to play. We really struggled in singles, but in doubles we started to believe and almost came out of the meet with a win despite only winning one singles match. We had four of the five doubles teams lose in tiebreakers.”
The Jaguars will play a non-conference meet at Des Moines Roosevelt (2-0) on Tuesday.
Here are the match-by-match results from Saturday:
Centennial 5, Bettendorf 4
Singles–Peterson (AC) beat Matera, 6-1, 6-0; Gehler (B) beat Jones, 6-2, 6-2; Reilly (B) beat H. Smith, 6-0, 6-0; Wellendorf (AC) beat Brooks, 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (8); Carkner (B) beat N. Smith, 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (9); Nelson (AC) beat Hancock, 6-4, 7-5.
Doubles–Peterson-Jones (AC) beat Matera-Reilly, 6-2, 6-4; Gehler-Carkner (B) beat Wellendorf-Nelson, 7-5, 6-1; Hiney-Lacey (AC) beat Brooks-Swanson, 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (7).
Cedar Falls 10, Centennial 1
Singles–Peterson (AC) beat Shah, 6-0, 6-0; Sampat beat Jones, 6-0, 6-0; Pranav Kota beat Hiney, 6-0, 6-0; Anugu beat Wellendorf, 6-0, 6-2; Mehta beat N. Smith, 6-2, 6-2; Ashar beat Nelson, 6-4, 6-4.
Doubles–Sampat-Anugu beat Jones-Nelson, 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (9); Shah-Ashar beat Peterson-Wellendorf, 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (8); Mehta-Atkins beat Hiney-Lacey, 6-0, 7-6 (4); Wegmann-Redfern beat N. Smith-H. Smith, 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (8); Lin-Lildholdt beat Halverson-Law, 7-5, 6-3.