The Ankeny Centennial girls’ tennis team ran into some bad luck on Tuesday before the start of the Class 2A state team tournament semifinals at Johnston.
The Jaguars lost their No. 1 player, Abbie Peterson, to an ankle injury.
“I just woke up (Monday) and went to practice and then after that it started really hurting,” said Peterson, who placed second in the Class 2A singles tournament on Saturday in Iowa City. “I think I have an ankle impingement from overuse. It’s just like shooting pain whenever I walk on it.”
Without Peterson in the lineup, the third-ranked Jaguars dropped a 5-3 decision to No. 2 Dowling Catholic in the semifinals. They then fell to No. 4 Valley, 5-2, in the third-place match.
“Once it was determined that Abbie would not be able to play, we knew going into the meet against Dowling that it could be an uphill battle,” said Centennial coach Alli Gustafson. “However, I could not have asked for a better showing from the girls. Each one of them stepped up and competed today, proving that we can still be competitive with any of those top teams in the state, even without our No. 1 player in the lineup.”
Centennial finished the best season in school history with a 12-3 record.
“Although the outcome was not what we were hoping for coming into the day, making it to the final four shows the progress our program has made, gives us much to be proud of, and gives us optimism for seasons to come,” Gustafson said. “This season has been full of ‘firsts,’ and our ending is yet another thing to add to that list.”
Dowling handed the Jaguars two of their three losses. The Maroons, who went on to drop a 5-2 decision to Cedar Rapids Washington in the title match, posted a 6-4 victory at Centennial on April 11.
In Tuesday’s rematch, the two teams split the six singles matches. The Jaguars got wins from Esther Guan, Samara Peterson and Megan Yuan.
“They’re putting up a really good fight,” Abbie Peterson said during the meet. “I wish I would have been able to play and been healthy, but it just wasn’t right for me today.”
Guan rallied for a three-set victory over Grace Frye at No. 2 singles to forge the 3-3 tie.
“Esther had a great end to her high school career with her win against Grace,” Gustafson said. “Esther and Grace are two of the top No. 2 (players) in high school tennis, so to see them battle it out, and for Esther to take control of the second set and super-tiebreaker, was fantastic.”
After dominating the second set, Guan won the super-tiebreaker, 10-5.
“I felt really good about that because we were definitely worried with Abbie being gone, but I was glad I could get a win for our team before doubles,” Guan said.
Dowling then won the Nos. 1 and 2 doubles matches to seal the victory. Guan played with Gabby Mixdorf at the No. 1 position due to Peterson’s injury.
“We played together one other time at Waukee Northwest, and it went a lot better than it did today,” Guan said. “But props to Dowling. They played well.”
Mixdorf, a junior, was unexpectedly thrown into the fire at the last minute.
“I’m so proud of how everyone played,” Guan said. “It was an unusual circumstance this morning finding out that Abbie wouldn’t be able to play, but I think we all stepped up.”
Gustafson praised Guan for adapting to a new partner.
“Esther was able to change her doubles strategy to play with Gabby,” she said. “I was so proud of how Gabby and Rozzie (Sterling) stepped up today for this team. Gabby played great in doubles both against Dowling and Valley as she filled in at the No. 1 position. She held her own in rallies and at the net and worked well with Esther. Rozzie, not having much singles experience throughout the year, stepped in against Valley and gave the match her all. She had strong groundstrokes and great patience.”
In the loss to Valley, Samara Peterson and Yuan again won their singles matches. But it wasn’t enough for the Jaguars.
“Megan and Samara both stepped up in singles and helped us get the wins we needed to advance to doubles,” Gustafson said. “They have been rockstars this season in singles and have been so solid, providing wins in most of our meets!”
The Tigers avenged an 8-3 loss to Centennial on April 13. Guan was the only senior in the Jaguars’ lineup on Tuesday.
“(These girls) are just getting started; I can’t wait to see how our returning players continue to impact this program,” Gustafson said.
Here are the match-by-match results:
Dowling Catholic 5, Centennial 3
Singles–Av. Petersen (D) beat A. Peterson, retired; Guan (AC) beat Frye, 5-7, 6-0, 10-5; Mauro (D) beat Benkufsky, 6-2, 6-0; S. Peterson (AC) beat Sackett, 6-2, 6-4; Edward (D) beat Lofgren, 7-5, 6-3; Yuan (AC) beat Bakros, 6-2, 6-1.
Doubles–Av. Petersen-Mauro (D) beat Guan-Mixdorf, 6-2, 6-0; Frye-Bakros (D) beat Benkufsky-Lofgren, 6-3, 6-0; S. Peterson-Yuan vs. Sackett-Edward DNF.
Valley 5, Centennial 2
Singles–Gu (V) beat Guan, 6-3, 6-1; Moen (V) beat Benkufsky, 6-0, 6-0; S. Peterson (AC) beat Shapiro, 7-6, 6-3; Keshwani (V) beat Lofgren, 6-4, 6-3; Yuan (AC) beat Tannenbaum, 6-2, 6-2; Tomar (V) beat Sterling, 6-3, 6-3.
Doubles–Guan-Mixdorf vs. Moen-Songer DNF; Gu-Tannenbaum (V) beat Benkufsky-Lofgren, 6-1, 6-1; S. Peterson-Yuan vs. Shapiro-Keshwani DNF.