It’s been a banner season for the Ankeny Centennial girls’ tennis team.
It got even better on Wednesday.
The third-ranked Jaguars qualified all six of their players for the Class 2A state tournament by sweeping the top two places in both singles and doubles in a regional tournament at Ames. The state tournament will be held on May 26-27 at the University of Iowa Tennis Center in Iowa City.
“Today was a great day for the Jags!” said Centennial coach Alli Gustafson. “Every one of my players stepped up today, played some of their best tennis, and punched their tickets to state. At the end of the day, it was pretty amazing to see an all-Jag final in both singles in doubles. I could not be more proud of these girls’ hard work and dedication to tennis this season. Today was the first step of putting all of that to the test, and they succeeded!”
Abbie Peterson won the singles crown with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Esther Guan. Peterson advanced to state for the second time, while Guan earned her third consecutive trip.
“I loved playing Esther,” said Peterson. “She is an amazing teammate, and I had fun getting to the finals with her!”
In doubles, the duo of Samara Peterson and Megan Yuan defeated teammates Jenna Benkufsky and Ara Lofgren, 6-2, 6-3. All four players qualified for state for the first time.
“Samara and Megan had a great day of tennis,” Gustafson said. “They were a tight team and were able to adjust their play based on the strategies of the other teams. Jenna and Ara also played great today.”
The top-seeded Peterson won her first two singles matches without losing a game. She defeated unseeded Katie Larson of Norwalk in the semifinals.
“Abbie played today with ease,” Gustafson said. “She dominated the court with her strong serve and had little to no issues getting to the final match of the day.”
Peterson, who raised her record to 11-0 on the season, placed fourth in Class 2A as a freshman in 2021. She did not play last year while focusing on club tennis.
“Since I have been playing most of my life and have the match experiences I need, at state what I need to do is just play with confidence and hit the ball the way I know I can,” Peterson said. “My goal for state is just to play free and ultimately leave the results up to God. If I do that, I am confident in my abilities for state!”
The second-seeded Guan, meanwhile, advanced to state with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 victory over third-seeded Emily Goodner of Fort Dodge in the semifinals. She is now 12-1 on the year.
“Esther was able to stay collected throughout her semifinal match and win her first-set tiebreak,” Gustafson said. “After that first-set win, she used her momentum to win the second set with little trouble.”
Guan qualified for state in singles for the second straight year. She placed sixth in doubles as a sophomore while playing with her sister, Claudia.
“I was pretty happy with how I played today!” Guan said. “I had a tough semifinal match, and I was proud of the way I was able to dig deep and save a set point in the first set. It was fun to play against Abbie because I love and respect her so much. It is strange to compete against a teammate, especially going from playing doubles with her on my side to playing against her, but I had a lot of fun!”
The third-seeded Peterson and Yuan advanced to state with a 6-2, 6-3 win over second-seeded Madison Haskell and Ava Johnson of Norwalk in the semifinals. They are now 13-1 on the season.
The top-seeded Benkufsky and Lofgren posted a 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) victory over fourth-seeded Samantha Berg and Jiwen Li of Ames in the semifinals. They are now 12-5 on the year.
“Jenna and Ara came out strong in the semifinals against Ames, and as Ames came back strong in the second set, Jenna and Ara remained collected and pulled out the second set in a tiebreak, securing their spot at state,” Gustafson said. “Once we hit the finals for both singles and doubles, it was great to see the girls have fun playing against their teammates. We were definitely fortunate to be in that position and to capture all four spots to state!”