![](https://ankenyfanatic.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Otto-and-Smith-vs.-NW-DW-used-1024x688.jpg)
A slow start could have been costly for the Ankeny girls’ tennis team on Tuesday.
The ninth-ranked Hawkettes recovered, however, and went on to beat visiting Waukee Northwest, 8-3, in a CIML Conference meet.
“The good news is that we won our third-set tiebreakers,” said Ankeny coach Steve Smith. “The bad news is we came out flat and put ourselves in a position where we had to come back to win those matches. We’ve got to find a way to compete like we’re the underdog even when we’re not.”
Ankeny won four of the six singles matches. Lilith Francel at the No. 5 position and Mallory De Haan at the No. 6 spot both rallied from a one-set deficit to prevail.
“It was great to see Lilith and Mallory fight their ways to victory in those third sets,” Smith said.
![](https://ankenyfanatic.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Francel-vs.-NW-2-DW-used-1024x575.jpg)
Ankeny then sealed the win by taking four of the five doubles matches. The Hawkettes improved to 2-3 in the conference, while Northwest’s records dropped to 0-5 in the league and 1-6 overall.
Ankeny will play another conference meet against No. 3 Ankeny Centennial (5-1) on Thursday.
“It’s going to be a significantly tougher opponent on Thursday, and we’ll have to raise our level of play significantly to even come close against our crosstown rivals,” Smith said.
Here are the match-by-match results from Tuesday’s meet:
![](https://ankenyfanatic.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/De-Haan-vs.-NW-DW-used-1024x577.jpg)
Ankeny 8, Waukee Northwest 3
Singles–Smith beat Schmidt, 6-0, 6-0; Paulsen (WN) beat Otto, 6-3, 7-6; Osburn beat Everett, 6-2, 7-5; Giles (WN) beat Kolb, 6-4, 6-3; Francel beat Sheeder, 4-6, 7-5, 10-8; De Haan beat Kinariwala, 6-7, 7-5, 10-4.
Doubles–Smith-Kolb beat Paulsen-Giles, 6-1, 6-1; Otto-Osburn beat Schmidt-Everett, 6-4, 6-1; Sheeder-Mandumula (WN) beat Francel-De Haan, 6-2, 6-3; Rohlfing-Risk beat Kinariwala-Hammond, 6-4, 6-4; Feldhacker-Gorrela beat Stanger-Metzger, 6-2, 6-4.