Senior Kellen Jones was the No. 2 player for the Ankeny Centennial boys’ tennis team this season. He helped the Jaguars advance to a Class 2A substate final earlier this month.
Jones and freshman Brayden Wellendorf qualified for the Class 2A state tournament in doubles. They finished with a 5-4 record after losing their first two matches on Tuesday at the Veterans Memorial Tennis Complex in Cedar Rapids.
Here is some inside info on Jones:
Congratulations on an outstanding season. What was the highlight for you?
The highlight of my season was definitely winning districts with Brayden to make it to state.
You and Brayden only played three matches together before winning the district title on May 9 at Ankeny. Were you guys able to develop some chemistry on the court right away?
Me and Brayden were both relatively new players coming into this. With our lack of experience, we kind of learned new things together which helped us build chemistry together.
Do you feel like your games complement each other pretty well?
Our games do complement each other very well as I am a pretty good volleyer and he has good ground strokes.
You guys opened the state tournament with a 6-0, 6-4 loss to a team from Pleasant Valley that went on to place sixth after finishing fourth a year ago. That was kind of a tough draw, wasn’t it?
Yeah, we did get a pretty tough draw but I think we both did our best at trying to look past their success at state last year and come out with a strong mentality.
Do you think they were the best team you played all year?
They were definitely up there among the best teams we have played this year, so with our lack of experience, it was kind of hard to get into a groove as seen by our 0-6 loss in the first set.
Did you and Brayden have to overcome some nerves?
I feel like we were both pretty nervous to play at state because there is a lot on the line, but we just had to play our game.
You guys then dropped a 6-3, 6-1 decision to a team from Valley in a first-round consolation match. What was the difference in that match?
I feel like we had an even greater sense of nothing to lose so we just gave it our all in that second match.
Coach Lewton told me that you and Brayden both played well at times, but just not at the same time. Did that make it hard to get some momentum going?
Tennis is such a mental game that when playing against higher-level opponents, we both need to be in the right mental state. After making some mistakes during the matches it is hard to bounce back and forget about the past. Because of this, it was pretty hard for both of us to be in the right state of mind at the same time.
Your teammate, Caleb Peterson, placed fifth in the Class 2A singles tournament. What did you think of his performance?
I thought Caleb played very well given his rough first-round match against (Kaden Taylor of) Waukee Northwest. In the consolation, he swept the competition. I know that he will be hungry for that state title next year.
I know you are headed to Wartburg College to play next year. Did you look at a lot of schools, and what did you like about Wartburg?
After looking at a few D3 schools in Iowa, I decided on Wartburg. Wartburg has a great coach, facility and team, and I feel like I will be able to grow the best as a player there.
What are you going to study?
I am going to study Finance.