Ankeny Centennial’s Caleb Peterson is headed to the boys’ Class 2A state tennis tournament for the third straight year.
The top-seeded Peterson rolled to a district singles title on Monday at Ames, losing a total of just two games on the day. The senior posted a 6-0, 6-2 win over third-seeded Micah Flaherty of Fort Dodge in the final to raise his record to 15-0 on the season.
“I’m happy with how I played. Overall, it was a great day of tennis,” said Peterson. “I’m very excited to play at state this year.”
After receiving a first-round bye, Peterson cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Ankeny’s Dylan Victor in the quarterfinals. However, the match wasn’t nearly as lopsided as the score indicated.
“Dylan was hitting very well with the best player in the state!” said Ankeny coach Ron Miller.
Victor, a sophomore, forced Peterson to work for many of his points.
“Dylan is a great player, and we had some good points,” Peterson said. “He put me on the defensive, particularly when I was returning I had to dig a lot of balls back and stay strong.”
Peterson then recorded another double bagel in the semifinals–this time against fourth-seeded Andrew Scott of Dowling Catholic. He followed with the win over Flaherty.
“Caleb was amazing,” said Centennial coach Tami Lewton. “I thought (Flaherty) could possibly complicate things a bit, but Caleb just took over every point and hit through him. I am super proud of him. If he continues to play at this level, the future is bright!”
Peterson will likely be the No. 1 seed at the state tournament, which is slated for May 23-24 at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Center in Iowa City. He placed fifth in singles at last year’s tournament after finishing sixth in doubles as a sophomore, when he played with Nic Mackaman.
The Jaguars got a fourth-place finish in doubles from the team of Nick Hiney and Brayden Wellendorf. They fell to top-seeded Graeme Kempkes and William Bright of Des Moines Roosevelt, 6-2, 7-6, in the third-place match.
After receiving a bye, the third-seeded duo posted a 6-3, 6-3 win over Roosevelt’s Teegan Van Ngoy and Brooks Arnold in the quarterfinals. Hiney and Wellendorf then dropped a 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 decision to second-seeded Brady Frye and Jimmy Wanek of Dowling.
Frye and Wanek went on to capture the district crown. The semifinal loss prevented Wellendorf from earning a second consecutive trip to state; he qualified last year as a freshman with Kellen Jones.
“Nick and Brayden certainly had their opportunities, but just could not punch their ticket,” Lewton said. “They truly had moments of greatness and took the (eventual) champs to three sets, but their play was just not consistent enough across sets.”
Ankeny’s Mason Lyons placed fourth in singles. He lost to Scott, 6-2, 6-3, in the third-place match.
The second-seeded Lyons romped to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Dowling’s Jack Seda in the quarterfinals. He then lost to Flaherty, 6-2, 6-0, in the semifinals.
“Mason played like a No. 2 seed in his first match,” Miller said. “He lost a bit of focus in the second match and didn’t compete as hard as he had all year.”
Victor rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Aidan Recker of Fort Dodge in the opening round. He then lost to Peterson in the quarterfinals.
In doubles, the Ankeny team of Avin Legg and Ethan Bovee rallied from a one-set deficit to beat Centennial’s Holden Smith and Luke Valerio-Garsow, 2-6, 6-0, 6-4, in the first round.
“Holden and Luke also had their opportunities,” Lewton said. “They came out just firing. Their first set was solid, but unfortunately they took their foot off the gas.”
Bovee and Legg then lost in the quarterfinals, 7-5, 6-3, to top-seeded Tharun Raju and Anson Bernard of Ames.
“I really thought Ethan and Avin would continue their great run, but the Ames team proved a bit too good,” Miller said.
The Hawks’ other doubles team of Aiden Walker and Cale Josten lost in the opening round. They dropped a 6-2, 6-3 decision to Van Ngoy and Arnold.
Centennial’s Jack Halverson also competed in singles. He lost to Roosevelt’s Jack Kehoe, 6-0, 6-1, in the first round.
“Jack had a tough draw with a lot of good players,” Lewton said. “But it was a good day of tennis, and we are so appreciative that a lot of our team came out to support.”
