An overall lack of experience is catching up with the Ankeny Centennial boys’ tennis team.
The Jaguars dropped an 8-3 decision at Dowling Catholic in a CIML Conference dual meet on Tuesday. It was the team’s third consecutive loss.
“It was another tough night at the courts,” said Centennial coach Tami Lewton. “We have a lot of guys that have never played varsity singles before, and it’s showing. Our doubles have been much stronger.”
Caleb Peterson provided Centennial’s lone victory in singles. He improved to 4-0 with a 6-0, 6-0 win at the No. 1 position and has yet to lose a single game all season.
Peterson then teamed up with Nick Hiney for another win at No. 1 doubles. The Jaguars also got a victory from the No. 2 doubles team of Brayden Wellendorf and Holden Smith.
“I think we get better with each meet, but unfortunately we are playing stronger teams each time,” Lewton said. “The last three years we start slow and ramp up as the season progresses. We are working hard on figuring it out.”
The Maroons improved to 2-1 in the conference. Centennial’s records dropped to 0-2 in the league and 1-3 overall.
The Jaguars will travel to Valley on Thursday for another conference meet against the Tigers.
Here are the match-by-match results from Tuesday’s meet:
Dowling Catholic 8, Centennial 3
Singles–Peterson (AC) beat Frye, 6-0, 6-0; Scott beat Hiney, 6-1, 6-0; Wanek beat Wellendorf, 6-2, 7-5; Clark beat Smith, 6-1, 6-2; Townsend beat Halverson, 6-3, 6-3; Seda beat Law, 6-1, 7-5.
Doubles–Peterson-Hiney (AC) beat Frye-Wanek, 7-5, 6-1; Wellendorf-Smith (AC) beat Scott-Clark, 7-5, 6-7, 10-7; Townsend-Cataldo beat Walker-Grim, 6-3, 6-2; Seda-Cody beat Halverson-Law, 6-4, 6-1; Alsin-Yurgae beat Sinclair-Earp, 6-3, 6-1.