The Ankeny Centennial girls’ tennis team is rolling toward the postseason.
The third-ranked Jaguars posted back-to-back shutouts on Monday and Tuesday, romping to an 11-0 win over visiting Waukee before defeating host Southeast Polk by the same score. They raised their records to 6-1 in the CIML Conference and 8-1 overall.
“It’s great to see the girls play up to their potential the last two meets,” said Centennial coach Alli Gustafson. “They have all come a long way since the beginning of the season, and seeing their hard work pay off in their matches is exciting. It is a lot of fun for every girl to walk away with wins in singles and in doubles.”
On Tuesday, Centennial won 10 of the 11 matches in straight sets. The Rams’ records dropped to 1-5 and 4-6.
At No. 4 doubles, Rozzie Sterling and Gabby Mixdorf rallied from a one-set deficit to post a 4-6, 7-5, 10-3 triumph.
“Rozzie and Gabby had a tiebreaker where they had to dig deep and stick to their strengths,” Gustafson said. “They were able to compose themselves and keep their energy high in the super-tiebreak to come out on top! We are using these meets to continue to build confidence as the postseason nears.”
On Monday, the Jaguars blanked No. 10 Waukee for the second time this season. They also posted an 11-0 win over the Warriors on April 6.
Only one of the 11 matches went to a decisive third set. That came at No. 2 doubles, where Jenna Benkufsky and Ara Lofgren teamed up for a 3-6, 6-3, 13-11 victory.
The Warriors are now 4-3 in the league and 4-4 overall.
Centennial will close out its conference schedule on Thursday with a meet at Waukee Northwest (1-7).
Here are the match-by-match results from both meets:
Centennial 11, S.E. Polk 0
Singles–A. Peterson beat O’Donnell, 6-0, 6-0; Guan beat Dao, 6-0, 6-1; Benkufsky beat Kenney, 6-0, 6-0; S. Peterson beat Pate, 6-0, 6-0; Lofgren beat Ballard, 6-2, 6-1; Yuan beat Ciesielski, 6-0, 6-1.
Doubles–A. Peterson-Guan beat O’Donnell-Dao, 6-1, 6-1; Benkufsky-Lofgren beat Kenney-Pate, 6-2, 6-0; S. Peterson-Yuan beat Ballard-Backen, 6-1, 6-0; Sterling-Mixdorf beat Ciesielski-Bartels, 4-6, 7-5, 10-3; Price-Rasmus beat Morris-Bouchard, 6-4, 6-3.
Centennial 11, Waukee 0
Singles–A. Peterson beat G. Martens, 6-1, 6-0; Guan beat Medina, 6-2, 6-1; Benkufsky beat A. Martens, 6-2, 6-1; S. Peterson beat Suresh, 6-1, 6-0; Lofgren beat McCrary, 6-0, 6-0; Yuan beat Jie, 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles–A. Peterson-Guan beat G. Martens-A. Martens, 6-0, 6-1; Benkufsky-Lofgren beat Medina-Suresh, 3-6, 6-3, 13-11; S. Peterson-Yuan beat McCrary-Jie, 6-1, 6-3; Sterling-Mixdorf beat Sprague-Schwickerath, 6-2, 6-0; Price-Rasmus beat (names unavailable), 6-1, 6-3.