It was the biggest win of the season for the Ankeny Centennial girls’ tennis team.
The Jaguars raised their record to 4-3 with a 6-5 victory at 10th-ranked Waukee in a non-conference meet on Tuesday. The No. 2 doubles team of Rozzie Sterling and Morgan DenBeste sealed the win with a three-set triumph.
“Taking down Waukee was something we had been working for, and for it to happen was awesome!” said Centennial coach Alli Gustafson. “The team showed confidence and ease today at the meet. It was a close battle, and Waukee is a great team.”
After losing the second set, Sterling and DenBeste rebounded to win the super-tiebreaker, 10-6. The loss dropped Waukee’s record to 1-2.
“Rozzie and Morgan stayed calm and took back control of the match during the tiebreaker,” Gustafson said.
Centennial took a 4-2 lead during singles play. Sterling and DenBeste both won their matches along with teammates Madison Price and Ara Lofgren.
“Madison and Ara both played fantastic singles matches and then came together for a doubles win as well,” Gustafson said. “I am so proud of all of these girls!”
The Jaguars will play a CIML Iowa Conference matchup at Waukee Northwest (4-1) on Thursday.
Here are the match-by-match results from Tuesday’s meet:
Centennial 6, Waukee 5
Singles–Roeth (W) beat Guan, 6-1, 6-4; G. Martens (W) beat Benkufsky, 6-2, 6-2; Sterling (AC) won, 6-2, 6-4; DenBeste (AC) beat Hirschy, 6-1, 6-1; Price (AC) beat Sivamurugan, 6-3, 6-1; Lofgren (AC) beat A. Martens, 6-2, 6-1.
Doubles–Roeth-G. Martens (W) beat Guan-Benkufsky, 7-5, 6-2; Sterling-DenBeste (AC) won, 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (6); Price-Lofgren (AC) won, 7-5, 6-4; Rouse-Brosnahan lost, 6-3, 6-3; Mixdorf-Rasmus lost, 6-2, 6-0.