Another cold and windy day provided a challenge for the Ankeny girls’ tennis team.
This time, the ninth-ranked Hawkettes didn’t adjust well to the tough conditions.
Ankeny dropped a 10-1 decision at No. 5 Johnston in a non-conference meet on Monday. The Dragons (4-1) rebounded after suffering their first loss of the season, 7-3, at No. 2 Valley on Thursday.
“I give Johnston credit,” said Ankeny coach Steve Smith, whose team fell to 3-2. “To win in the wind, you have to move your feet more than normal, watch the ball into the racket and adjust your shot selection based on how the wind will impact your shot. Johnston was simply better at all three of those areas of the game.”
Ankeny’s lone victory came at No. 1 singles, where Kira Smith posted a 6-2, 6-1 triumph over Allie Christensen. The freshman is now 7-1 on the season.
Smith and Sophie Schmitz lost in three sets at No. 1 doubles. They won the first set, but eventually fell to Christensen and Dasha Svitashev, 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (3).
“Hopefully, we learn from this meet and play much better to finish the season,” Smith said.
The Hawkettes will play another non-conference meet at Des Moines Roosevelt (3-1) on Tuesday.
Here are the match-by-match results from Monday’s meet:
Johnston 10, Ankeny 1
Singles–Smith (A) beat Christensen, 6-2, 6-1; Svitashev beat A. Schmitz, 6-1, 6-0; Monson beat Johnson, 6-3, 6-1; Gano beat Otto, 6-0, 6-2; Hendricksen beat Blume, 6-3, 6-1; Blackford beat S. Schmitz, 6-0, 6-2.
Doubles–Christensen-Svitashev beat Smith-S. Schmitz, 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (3); Monson-Gano beat A. Schmitz-Otto, 6-3, 6-2; Hendricksen-Blackford beat Johnson-Osburn, 6-3, 6-4; Jensen-Curry beat Blume-Francel, 6-1, 6-0; Saravanan-Soults beat Byrnes-Laib, 7-6 (6), 6-4.