The struggling Ankeny Centennial boys’ tennis team got a much-needed lift.
After dropping three consecutive dual meets, the Jaguars rebounded on Thursday with a 6-5 victory at third-ranked Valley. They improved to 1-2 in the CIML Conference and 2-3 overall, while the Tigers’ records fell to 1-2 and 4-2.
“The guys were so clutch and played fantastic,” said Centennial coach Tami Lewton. “I could tell with each match we were getting better, but we made huge strides tonight.”
The two teams split the six singles matches. Centennial’s Caleb Peterson posted a 6-0, 6-1 win over Beck Sissel at the No. 1 spot, marking the first time in five matches this season that he has lost a game.
Nick Hiney at the No. 2 spot and Brayden Wellendorf at No. 3 both lost the opening set of their matches before rallying to win.
“We won four super-tiebreakers overall,” Lewton said. “Nick and Brayden both pulled out fantastic wins.”
Peterson and Hiney then teamed up for a three-set victory at No. 1 doubles, while Jack Halverson and Andrew Law won another three-set match at the No. 3 position. The No. 4 doubles team of Ty Walker and Luke Valerie-Garsow won in straight sets.
“Everyone on our team contributed, and we could not have done it without the support of our JV team,” Lewton said. “I am so very proud of all of them.”
Here are the match-by-match results:
Centennial 6, Valley 5
Singles–Peterson (AC) beat Sissel, 6-0, 6-1; Hiney (AC) beat Chawla, 1-6, 6-2, 10-6; Wellendorf (AC) beat Mirsky, 2-6, 6-3, 12-10; Singaram (V) beat Smith, 7-5, 6-3; Fratianni (V) beat Halverson, 6-2, 6-2; Berg (V) beat Law, 6-2, 6-3.
Doubles–Peterson-Hiney (AC) beat Sissel-Berg, 7-6, 4-6, 10-8; Fratianni-Amalker (V) beat Wellendorf-Smith, 6-1, 6-2; Halverson-Law (AC) beat Chawla-Singaram, 6-2, 2-6, 12-10; Walker-Valerie-Garsow (AC) beat Nguyen-Bell, 6-4, 6-1; Rickert-Wiarda (V) beat Sinclair-Earp, 6-1, 6-1.